Folklore studies / Study of myth Books

Trade Review"[T]his is a clever and delightful monograph."--Elisabeth Van Houts, Early Medieval EuropeTable of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 CHAPTER ONE: Women and Origins in Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages 7 CHAPTER TWO: Writing Women Out: Amazons and Barbarians 26 CHAPTER THREE: A Tale of Two Judiths 43 CHAPTER FOUR: Writing Women In: Sacred Genealogy and Gender 60 EPILOGUE: Women at the End 76 Notes 79 Suggestions for Further Reading 99 Index 101

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"[A]n eclectic collection ... spanning millennia and continents."--Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald "[A] comprehensive anthology... [A]lso of note are artist Frank's gorgeous illustrations."--Library Journal "It is not often that a new book comes along that is both a breakthrough in scholarly terms and also a magnificent work of art. Jack Zipes's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, illustrated by Natalie Frank, is both."--Maria Tatar, Breezes from WonderlandTable of ContentsList of Figures ix Preface xi Notes and Acknowledgments xxiii Introduction The Sorcerer's Apprentice, Harry Potter, and Why Magic Matters 1 Part I The Humiliated Apprentice Tales Early Tales Lucian of Samosata, "Eucrates and Pancrates" (ca. 170 CE) 85 Francois Petis de la Croix, "The Story of the Brahmin Padmanaba and the Young Hassan" (1707) 88 Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, "The Pupil in Magic" (1798) 97 Nineteenth-Century Tales Robert Southey, "Cornelius Agrippa's Bloody Book" (1801) 101 Sir Walter Scott, "The Last Exorciser" (1838) 103 John Naake, "The Book of Magic" (1874) 103 Alfred Cooper Fryer, "The Master and His Pupil; or, The Magic Book" (1884) 105 Sheykh-Zada, "The Lady's Fifth Story" (1886) 110 Edith Hodgetts, "The Blacksmith and the Devil" (1890) 112 Twentieth-Century Tales Henry Thomas Francis, "The Rash Magician" (1916) 117 Richard Rostron, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1941) 119 Richard Dorson, "The Mojo" (1956) 123 Harold Courlander, "The Do-All Ax" (1957) 124 Part II The Rebellious Apprentice Tales Early Tales Ovid, "Erysichthon and Mestra" (8 CE) 129 Rachel Harriette Busk, "The Saga of the Well-and-Wise-Walking Khan" (ca. 3rd Century to 11th Century) 136 Somadeva, "Bhavasarman and the Two Witches" (ca. 1070) 140 Farid al-Din 'Attar, "The Magician's Apprentice" (ca. 1220) 142 Giovan Francesco Straparola, "Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi" (1553) 144 Sangendhi Mahalingam Natesa Sastri, "The Deceiver Shall Be Deceived" (ca. 1770) 151 Nineteenth-Century Tales Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, "The Nimble Thief and His Master" (1819) 163 Kazimierz Wladyslaw Woycicki, "The Sorcerer and His Apprentice" (1839) 166 Arthur and Albert Schott, "The Devil and His Pupil" (1845) 169 Ludwig Bechstein, "The Magic Combat" (1857) 174 Johann Georg von Hahn, "The Teacher and His Pupil" (1864) 178 Giuseppe Pitre, "The Tuft of Wild Beet" (1875) 184 Domenico Comparetti, "Oh, Relief!" (1875) 190 Francois-Marie Luzel, "The Magician and His Servant" (1885) 193 George Webbe Dasent, "Farmer Weathersky" (1888) 202 Jerome Curtin, "The Fisherman's Son and the Gruagach of Tricks" (1890) 209 Edith Hodgetts, "The Wonderful Trade" (1890) 218 Charles Swynnerton, "The Story of Ali the Merchant and the Brahmin" (1892) 227 Twentieth-Century Tales Leo Wiener, "The Tale of the Sorcerer" (1902) 243 Joseph Charles Mardrus, "The Twelfth Captain's Tale" (ca. 1904) 247 Fletcher Gardner, "The Battle of the Enchanters" (1907) 253 Peter Buchan, "The Black King of Morocco" (1908) 254 Cecil Henry Bompas, "The Boy Who Learnt Magic" (1909) 257 Edith Nesbit, "The Magician's Heart" (1912) 260 Claude-Marius Barbeau, "The Two Magicians" (1916) 272 Hermann Hesse, "The Forest Dweller" (1917) 274 Heywood Broun, "Red Magic" (1921) 281 Dean Fansler, "The Mysterious Book" (1921) 286 Elsie Clews Parsons, "The Battle of the Enchanters" (1923) 289 Romuald Pramberger, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (1926) 293 Seumas MacManus, "The Mistress of Magic" (1926) 296 Joseph Medard Carriere, "The Two Magicians" (1937) 306 John Mason Brewer, "The High Sheriff and His Servant" (1958) 311 Corinne Saucier, "The Man and His Son" (1962) 312 A. K. Ramanujan, "The Magician and His Disciple" (1997) 313 Part III Krabat Tales Joachim Leopold Haupt, "About an Evil Man in Gross-Sarchen" (1837) 323 Michael Hornig, "Krabat: A Legend from Folklore" (1858) 324 Georg Gustav Kubasch, "Krabat" (1865) 326 Edmund Veckenstedt, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice, I" (1880; Recorded by Hendrich Jordan) 329 Edmund Veckenstedt, "The Sorcerer's Apprentice, II" (1880; Recorded by Alexander von Rabenau) 331 Johann Goltsch, "The Story about Krabat" (1885) 333 Georg Pilk, "The Wendish Faust Legend" (1900) 334 Jerzy Slizinski, "Krabat" (1959) 344 Biographies of Authors, Editors, Collectors, and Translators 349 Filmography 365 Bibliography 369 Selected and Chronological List of Sorcerer's Apprentice Tales 387 Index 397

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Zimmer moves among [the myths of India] unhurriedly, with a respect that amounts to devotion. Gradually his comments bring to light the universal meanings beneath the archaic exterior."--New York TimesTable of ContentsList of Plates ix I Eternity and time 1 The Parade of Ants 3 2 The Wheel of Rebirth 11 3 The Wisdom of Life 19 II The Mythology of Vishnu 1 Vishnu Maya 23 2 The Waters of Existence 27 3 The Waters of Non-Existance 35 4 Maya in Indian Art 53 III The Guardians of Life 1 The Serpent, Supporter of Vishnu and the Buddha 59 2 Divinities and their Vehicles 69 3 The Serpent and the Bird 72 4 Vishnu as Conqueror of the Serpent 77 5 The Lotus 90 6 The Elephant 102 7 The Sacred Rivers 109 IV The Cosmic Delight of Shiva 1 The "Fundamental Form" and the "Playful Manifestations" 123 2 The Phenomenon of Expanding Form 130 3 Shiva-Shakti 137 4 The Great Lord 148 5 The Dance of Shiva 151 6 The Face of Glory 175 7 The Destroyer of the Three Towns 185 V The Goddess 1 The Origin of The Goddess 189 2. The Island of Jewels 197 VI Conclusion 217 Index 223 Plates 249

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Book Synopsis"First published in Italian under the title Roma: Il Primo Giorno by Gius. Laterza & Figli S.p.A., Rome, in 2007"--T.p. verso.Trade Review"Tradition assigns [the founding of Rome] to the year 753 B.C., when Romulus--who, according to legend, was rescued from infanticide with his twin brother Remus and suckled by a she-wolf--erected the first walls of the so-called Roma Quadrata, or 'square Rome.' It has been a very long time since anyone took this account as an accurate historical description, but Carandini provocatively suggests that it might be more or less true."---Adam Kirsch, New Yorker"It has been assumed generally that the traditional founding of Rome by twin brothers Romulus and Remus 28 centuries ago should be classified as myth. This provocative examination by a highly regarded but controversial archaeologist suggests, however, that the story contains more than a grain of truth . . . he marshals considerable evidence, written and archaeological, to bolster his claims, and his conclusions certainly are startling and exciting."---Jay Freeman, Booklist"Carandini's gifts as an archaeologist are admired even by those who don't accept his interpretations and Rome: Day One is full of fascinating detail." * The Age *"'It's a bold book, but will not persuade all readers,' said ancient Rome Professor Christopher Smith of the British School at Rome. '[Still] no one in recent years has done more than Carandini to challenge our perceptions.'" * New York Post *"Researchers will be intrigued with Carandini's precise picture of early Rome and the fine illustrations." * Choice *"What makes Rome: Day One such an extraordinary book is not the erudite descriptions but the energetic style of prose. For a volume so packed with detail, it remains an astonishingly easy read. . . . This is a book written to bring those early days to the attention of anyone and everyone."---Caldrail, UNRV History"[T]he book is interesting because it discusses a topic that is much eschewed by the modern historians as it treads on controversial religious aspects."---Vaidehi Nathan, Organiser"Uncovering the birth of a city that gave birth to a world, Rome reveals as never before a truly epochal event." * World Book Industry *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“In these deliberately tarnished tales … wondrousness mainly shines through in their often beautiful imagery.”—Michael Dirda, Washington Post“This is a wonderful resource for scholars of fairy tales and decadent literature and a timely, thought-provoking collection for nonspecialists.”—Choice“Besides being a thoroughly engaging read, Fairy Tales for the Disillusioned is an extraordinary contribution to the fairy-tale canon…. Schultz and Seifert have managed to recover a little bit of the magic so necessary for modern life.”—Victoria Leslie, Gramarye Journal“Sometimes sardonic, sometimes brutal, often blackly funny and possessed of a peculiarly modern sensibility.”—Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald

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Book SynopsisTrade Review“A comprehensive anthology. . . . Also of note are artist Frank’s gorgeous illustrations.”—Library Journal“It is not often that a new book comes along that is both a breakthrough in scholarly terms and also a magnificent work of art. Jack Zipes’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, illustrated by Natalie Frank, is both.”—Maria Tatar, Breezes from Wonderland“Jack Zipes has always been a kind of sorcerer himself, skilled in discovering, transforming, translating, and understanding the old tales of magic that appear in different but similar forms all over the world. This is a wonderful collection.”—Alison Lurie, author of Don’t Tell the Grown-Ups“An eclectic collection . . . spanning millennia and continents.”—Cameron Woodhead, Sydney Morning Herald “A selection of high-quality tales. . . . This book offers a convincing explanation for the immortality of tales featuring the sorcerer’s apprentice.”—Yelena Francis, Journal of Folklore Research

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"This is an ambitious and meticulously researched study."—Emily Zobel Marshall, Times Literary Supplement"A lively . . . piece of cultural detective work exploring the history of the tar baby."—Library Journal"A remarkably rich and wide-ranging book that draws on many histories, geographies, and disciplines in exploring one of the nation's—and the world's—most disturbing but strangely elusive racial stories."—Eric J. Sundquist, author of King's Dream"Wagner's tar baby is not one we know; his account opens a wider horizon of persuasions and alignments that interrogate the onset of capitalism and the disorienting experience of early globalization."—Hortense J. Spillers, author of Black, White, and in Color

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Ultimately, the book's greatest merit may lie . . . in his [Edmunds'] broad horizons--in his delight at discovering similarities between classical literature and the tales and experiences of people across the globe."---Barbara Graziosi, Times Higher Education"Edmunds brings to this rich, sophisticated book an innovative approach to the Helen story: he looks at it with a comparative eye." * Choice *"An excellent, important book in both its methodology and data. . . . Edmunds has brought about a leap of quality in understanding the myth of Helen."---Ephraim Nissan, Fabula"A weighty contribution to the study of Helen as well as the study of folklore in ancient Greece."---Ryan Platte, Journal of Hellenic Studies

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Readers will discover in this collection displays of violence in its most unforgiving forms as well as repeated tributes to beauty and its seductive power."---Maria Tatar, Foreign Policy"Enjoyable. . . . An exciting look at oral traditions of rural China. Lovers of folktales and fairytales will enjoy this book and Zhang’s conversational prose." * Library Journal *"[The book] is an exuberant celebration of humanity and translates beautifully into a joyously fresh read"---Bob Rickard, Fortean Times"A useful tool for cross-cultural reading in the classroom or comparative research on folk and fairy tales. . . . There are still not many scholarly compilations of Chinese tales in the English-language circle. With its well-considered selection, meticulous translation, and refreshing perspective, Zhang’s book is a valuable contribution, presenting the Lin Lan series that has played an important role in continuing and preserving Chinese folk narrative traditions but is rarely known outside China."---Jing Li, Journal of American Folklore

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Mayor’s cabinet of curiosities conveys admirably her sense of the wonder, complexity, and engrossing strangeness of the ancient Greco-Roman world, as well as the richness and diversity of the many ages that followed."---James Romm, Wall Street Journal"Covering much more than just myths and monsters, this book also contains information about ancient science and mirages, and everything from tourism to tattoos. . . . This book has a little something for everyone." * Library Journal *"This is an eminently informative book, for readers of all ages. . . . Mayor is able to give a sense of wonder to her inquiries and, without losing rigor, she brings it back to the academic world. In this sense, the book more than fulfils its objectives: we have found pleasure in reading it." * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *"An interesting gallimaufry of 50 short essays that seek to extract nuggets of truth from mythology, legends, and folklore." * Choice Reviews *"A good bedstand book, for dipping into at will for a bite-sized diversion."---Janet Brennan Croft, Mythlore"In this hugely entertaining new anthology of historical curiosities we reap the benefits of Mayor’s willingness to burrow into the dusty corners of history and to pick up on myths and stories other historians tend to slide past without stopping."---Terry Potter, Letterpress Project"This delightful collection of 50 mini-essays by Stanford University research scholar Adrienne Mayor answers some of the most fascinating questions readers wouldn’t otherwise have thought to ask themselves about classical folklore and the history of science. . . . Mayor’s inquisitive spirit animates the answers she provides." * Christian Century *"Mayor has a vast store of knowledge and is a masterful storyteller. Her latest work is a delightful feast for curious minds."---Diana Bentley, Minerva Magazine"Informative and vastly entertaining."---Anita Guerrini, History Today"A delightful compendium that will provoke fresh scholarship and draw new readers to the study of folklore, myth, and culture."---Timothy J. Burbery, Folklore

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Book SynopsisThe narrative of Confederate exceptionalism, this book argues, updates two uniquely American mythologies - the Lost Cause and American exceptionalism - blending their elements with discourses of racial neoliberalism to create a seeming separation between the Confederacy and racist systems.Trade ReviewIf we’re to understand why, in the wake of murderous events in Charleston and Charlottesville, significant numbers of Americans embrace the contentious symbols of an aborted proslavery nation, we must Subject their worldview to high-caliber critical scrutiny. In a Series of compelling case studies Nicole Maurantonio skillfully uncovers the mind-Set of neo-Confederates in the contemporary United States. This opportune study is truly a book for our troubled times." - Robert Cook, author of Civil War Memories: Contesting the Past in the United States since 1865"In Confederate Exceptionalism Nicole Maurantonio takes a fresh and exciting approach to a familiar Subject. Drawing on her expertise in qualitative methods and discursive analysis, Maurantonio explores the current landscapes of Confederate memory and deepens readers’ understanding of the rhetorics and persistent emotional power of Confederate exceptionalism. Throughout, Maurantonio’s distinctive focus on the present day and her engaging voice and style make Confederate Exceptionalism an important and exciting addition to the rich body of scholarship on Civil War memory." - Matthew Mace Barbee, author of Race and Masculinity in Southern Memory: History of Richmond, Virginia’s Monument Avenue, 1948–1996

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Book SynopsisAt the dawn of a new era we are drawn to modern Goddess spirituality. Rae Beth feels the world can change by sharing our personal spiritual experiences with each other.Trade Review'Here are profound insights and a depth of exegesis and experience rarely encountered in works of this ilk ... very difficult to put this book down.' Manchester Pagan 'A valuable addition to the bookshelf of any self-respecting student of the Mysteries.' Green Circular

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Book SynopsisSaving the Nation through Culture tells the little-known story of how a group of Chinese scholars attempted to use “low culture” to promote national unity during a long period of crisis.Table of ContentsIntroduction1 Seeking a Solution for the Nation: The Folklore Movement’s Origins at National Peking University2 Carrying on amidst Chaos: Establishment of Folklore Studies in South China3 Developing an Excellent Situation: The Spread of the Folklore Movement in China4 Breaking with the Past: The Folklore Movement in WartimeConclusionAppendices; Notes; Glossary; Bibliography; Index

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Book SynopsisDrawing on his extensive fieldwork in living oral traditions, Albert Bates Lord here concentrates on the epic singers and their art as manifested in texts or performance.Trade ReviewA welcome publication.... The book contains eleven of his most important previously published articles and two studies which have not been published before.... There is something to be learned from every one of these studies. * Classical Journal *

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Book SynopsisThis fresh and thought-provoking book deepens our understanding of the dynamic relationship between the creation of myth and the development of the ancient Greek polis, or city-state, during crucial periods in archaic and classical Greece. Examining the diverse texts which crystallized Greek oral tradition, nine chapters by a multidisciplinary...

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Book SynopsisOne of the special charms of the Odyssey, according to Charles Segal, is the way it transports readers to fascinating places. Yet despite the appeal of its narrative, the Odyssey is fully understood only when its style, design, and mythical patterns...Trade ReviewCharles Segal offers an insightful and literate commentary that will enable readers to enjoy a fresh and informed appreciation for this classic Hellenic adventure tale.... A welcome addition to the growing body of erudite commentary on the enduringly popular epic poetry of Homer. * The Bookwatch *The essays in this book furnish very astute, unswervingly literary interpretations of key themes in the Odyssey.... Refreshingly straightforward criticism of a consistently high order. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *

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Book SynopsisWith the publication of Ritual Lament in Greek Tradition, widely considered a classic in Modern Greek studies and in collateral fields, Margaret Alexiou established herself as a major intellectual innovator on the interconnections among ancient, medieval, and modern Greek cultures. In her new, eagerly awaited book, Alexiou looks at how language defines the contours of myth and metaphor. Drawing on texts from the New Testament to the present day, Alexiou shows the diversity of the Greek language and its impact at crucial stages of its history on people who were not Greek. She then stipulates the relatedness of literary and folk genres, and assesses the importance of rituals and metaphors of the life cycle in shaping narrative forms and systems of imagery.Alexiou places special emphasis on Byzantine literary texts of the sixth and twelfth centuries, providing her own translations where necessary; modern poetry and prose of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries; and narrTrade ReviewAfter Antiquity appears in the wide-ranging and imaginative series Myth and Poetics edited by Gregory Nagy and published by Cornell Press.... It not only fits well into the series Nagy has nurtured; it might be said to represent in a single volume the originality and broad reach of the series.... Alexiou's sweeping survey of 2000 years of Greek texts depends, for its unity, on her conclusion that there is, and has always been, a constant interaction between ritual, myth, and language in Greece, much of it enriched by the language of the New Testament. She argues for mutual interaction rather than a linear concept of mythological genres, and for the performative nature of ritual behavior and metaphoric speech in Greece. Throughout her book she stresses the importance of women's participation in this complex, shared system that encompasses everything from shopping for baby clothes to lamenting the dead in its generous embrace. -- Gail Holst-Warhaft * International Journal of the Classical Tradition *The subject of this remarkable book is nothing less than the entire verbal and performative culture of Greek-speakers since about the time of the New Testament.... In many ways this book is the summation of a lifetime's achievement.... Alexiou's range is unrivalled in contemporary scholarship.... One thing does shine through in these pages, and that is Alexiou's visceral understanding and deep love for Greek life, the Greek language, and the extraordinary variety and richness of its manifestations over a recorded history so long as to defeat the imagination of most of us. * Anglo-Hellenic Review *Alexiou is concerned with connections.... She juxtaposes ancient, Byzantine, and modern Greek texts, literary and folk culture, speech and ritual. She connects scholarship to personal experience, too, as the mother of two autistic sons, bringing the obsessive ritualism of the autistic to bear as evidence of what ritual is and does.... This is a book written out of love of Greece, past and present. -- Richard Jenkyns * Common Knowledge *This study is a perfect example of how to demonstrate with critical acumen and authority the vital, graphic, and obvious links between antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the present. Admirably and amply documented, the volume will serve as an indispensable reference tool in a wide variety of disciplines—among them, language and literature, intellectual history, philosophy, and folklore. Summing Up: Essential. * Choice *

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Book SynopsisMerlin, the wizard of Arthurian legend, has been a source of enduring fascination for centuries. In this authoritative, entertaining, and generously illustrated book, Stephen Knight traces the myth of Merlin back to its earliest roots in the early Welsh figure of Myrddin. He then follows Merlin as he is imagined and reimagined through centuries of literature and art, beginning with Geoffrey of Monmouth, whose immensely popular History of the Kings of Britain (1138) transmitted the story of Merlin to Europe at large. He covers French and German as well as Anglophone elements of the myth and brings the story up to the present with discussions of a globalized Merlin who finds his way into popular literature, film, television, and New Age philosophy. Knight argues that Merlin in all his guises represents a conflict basic to Western societies-the clash between knowledge and power. While the Merlin story varies over time, the underlying structural tension remains the same whTrade ReviewKnight frames Merlin's career in terms of the different functions he performs in successive periods.... Knight ends his history with a brief but heartfelt warning that the dialectical relationship between knowledge and truth and the public institutions of power remains crucial to both the academy and to the health of the body politic. * Times Literary Supplement *Table of ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: British Myrddin-Merlin: Wisdom Myrddin-Merlin The Earliest Materials Natural Wisdom: Myrddin of Cumbria Prophetic Wisdom: Myrddin of Wales Wisdom at Court: Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae Twelfth-Century Natural Wisdom: Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Vita MerliniChapter 2: Medieval Merlin: Advice From Prophecy to Advice: Wace Christian Advice: Robert de Boron Grand Vizier: The Vulgate Merlin Darkening Advice: The Post-Vulgate Merlin Advising a Nation: from Layamon to MaloryChapter 3: English Merlin: Cleverness Prophecy and Advice in Decline Renaissance Cleverness Cleverness High and Low: The Seventeenth Century Cleverness High and Low: The Eighteenth Century The Dangers of Cleverness: The Romantics The Dangers of Cleverness: The VictoriansChapter 4: International Merlin: Education Continental Merlin: From Cleverness Back to Wisdom Toward Education: America Toward Education: Britain Education and the Novel: White, Lewis, and Cooper Education and the Novel: Historicism, Juveniles, and Fantasy Merlin on Screen International MerlinNotes Primary Bibliography Secondary Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA study in poetic interaction, The "Odyssey" in Athens explores the ways in which narrative structure and parallels within and between epic poems create or disclose meaning. Erwin F. Cook also broadens the scope of this intertextual approach to include...Trade ReviewA remarkable work which places the final text of the Odyssey into a new light. * Journal of Indo-European Studies *A stimulating new attempt to explain the genesis of the Odyssey in terms that respond to the social and religious environment of its age. -- Peter Wilson * Classical Review *In a work of perceptive and perceptive and persuasive scholarship, lucidly written and argued, Cook provides an intellectually satisfying guide to the thematic and structural unity of the Odyssey. There is much in this fine book that can be read with profit by both general readers and advanced scholars. * Choice *

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Book SynopsisFrederick Ahl and Hanna M. Roisman offer a challenging new reading of the Odyssey that is directed to the general student of literature as well as to the classicist.Trade ReviewOffers a lively and detailed reading of Homer's 'The Odyssey', episode by episode, with particular attention paid to the manipulative power of its language and Homer's skill in using that power. * The Midwest Book Review *

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Book SynopsisA successor to his popular book A Cabinet of Medical Curiosities, this new collection of essays by Jan Bondeson illustrates various anomalies of human development, the lives of the remarkable individuals concerned, and social reactions to their...Trade ReviewA sober, informative disquisition on the sundry forms that humanity can assume and endure. * Kirkus Reviews *As Bondeson looks at the cases of the so-called hog-faced women, dog-faced boys, and people with horns throughout history, he shows an acute sensitivity to the nuances of historical interpretation and for the humanity of those whose lives and conditions he chronicles. * Publishers Weekly *

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Book SynopsisIn 1935, in the depths of the Great Depression, Franklin Roosevelt issued an executive order creating the Federal Writers' Project (FWP). Out-of-work teachers, writers, and scholars fanned out across the country to collect and document local lore. This book reveals the remarkable results of the FWP in Wyoming.Trade Review“Roger Welsch is probably the only man from CBS Sunday Morning who has milked a cow. This lends him credibility in the eyes of many of us and qualifies him to sort the wheat from the chaff of Wyoming folklore.”—Baxter Black, cowboy, poet, former large-animal veterinarian, and radio commentator"This gathering of folklore, legends, and history is brought to readers thanks to the 1930s archives of the Federal Writers' Project (FWP). . . . Readers and scholars of the American West and the FWP will find this book worthwhile."—S.B. DeMasi, Choice"The book is fun, and it might just serve as a reminder that there are files tucked away in every state across the West that just might hide some information relevant to the studies of those who find their way here."—Gary L. Roberts, Wild West History Association Journal"I recommend the book for the general reader who is interested in folklore from Wyoming, or of the wider West—folklore actually from people living there as opposed to significantly rewritten or bowlderized forms—for scholars interested in the contours of the WPA folklore projects, and for scholars looking for additional texts in the categories listed above for comparative purposes."—Lisa Gabbert, Western American LiteratureTable of ContentsIntroduction Part 1. Pioneer Memories 1. Cowboy Days with the Old Union Cattle Company 2. Tale of the Southern Trail 3. Life in a Line Camp 4. A Christmas in the Mountains 5. An Old-Time Christmas in Jackson Hole 6. Stories of a Round-up 7. The Last Great Buffalo Hunt of Washakie and His Band in the Big Horn Basin Country 8. A Stampede 9. Civil Strife 10. The Fleur-de-Lis Cocktail 11. Putting on the Style 12. American Class 13. Packer, the Man-Eater Part 2. The White Man's Tales Lost Mine Tales14. The Lost Treasure of the Haystacks 15. Lost Gold of the Big Horn Basin 16. The Lost Soldier Mine 17. The Lost DeSmet Treasure 18. Indian Joe's Gold 19. The Lost Sweetwater Mine 20. The Lost 600 Pounds Tall Tales and Humor21. The Coney 22. Bearing Down 23. Slovakian Rabbits 24. The Prolific Herds 25. Hunting on the Railroad 26. All Aboard! 27. The Fossil Bug 28. The Big Snake on Muddy Creek 29. Wyoming Fauna 30. The Capture of a Sea Serpent 31. Vanishing Elk 32. The Hard-Water Spring 33. "Dutch" Seipt's River 34. The Great Discovery 35. Love on the Yellowstone 36. The Dying Cowboy 37. Getting the Tenderfoot 38. Jerky Bill's Funeral Characters, Big and Little39. The Wake of the White Swede 40. Disappearing Johnny 41. The Lynching of Walters and Gorman 42. Jim Baker's Revenge 43. The Piano Tuner and His Hallet Canyon Hunch 44. The Man with the Celluloid Nose 45. Portugee's Ride 46. The White Rider 47. The Chicago Kid 48. A Woman's Wiles 49. The Legend of the Indian Princess Ah-ho-ap-pa Ghost Tales50. Ghost Lights on Old Morrisey Road 51. The Hoback River Ghost 52. The Phantom Scout 53. The Specter of Cheyenne Pass 54. The Laramie Ghost 55. The Ghost of Cross Anchor Ranch 56. The Ghost of Nightcap Bay 57. The Oakley Ghost 58. Mel Quick's Story Folk Etymologies59. The Hartville Rag 60. The Story of Whiskey Gap 61. The Legend of Crazy Woman Country 62. The Story of Rawhide Butte 63. The Legend of Fanny's Peak Part 3. Indian Folktales Creation Myths64. Arapaho (1) and Arapaho (2) 65. Shoshone Tales and Legends66. Axe Brown's Stories 67. Lone Bear's Story 68. The Ninam-bea, or "Little People" 69. The Mouthless People 70. A Shoshone Legend 71. The Fort Washakie Hot Spring 72. The Story of the Cottontail and the Sun Indian Legends of Jackson Hole73. The Sheep-eaters 74. The Happy Hunting Grounds 75. The Legend of Sheep Mountain 76. The Legend of "One-Eye" Indian Place Name Legends77. The Legend of Big Springs 78. Shoshone Version of the Legend of the Big Spring 79. The Legend of Wind River Canyon 80. The Legend of Chugwater Creek 81. Legends of Lake DeSmet 82. Lovers' Leap 83. The Legend of Bull Lake 84. The Great Medicine Wheel Medicine Wheel Legends85. The Legends of the Devil's Tower 86. A Kiowa Legend of the Devil's Tower Part 4. Folk Belief, Custom, and Speech Folk Belief87. Weather 88. Love 89. Good Luck 90. Bad Luck 91. Wishes 92. Medicines Cures from Other Wyoming Sources93. Physiognomy, Reading Character and Omens by Physical Features 94. Dream Interpretations 95. Miscellaneous Beliefs and Omens 96. Indian Beliefs Folk Speech97. Glossary of Terms, Nicknames, and Folk Speech 98. Cheap Thunder! An Example of Folk Speech in Action

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Book SynopsisTable of ContentsAcknowledgmentsIntroductionPrologue1. Ouachita Mountains, Oklahoma2. Uwharrie Mountains, North Carolina3. Southern Illinois4. Green Swamp, Florida5. Northern Wisconsin6. Eastern Kentucky7. Salt Fork State Park, Ohio8. Wind River Mountains, WyomingEpilogueNotes

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Book SynopsisThis work weaves its interpretation of Jewish culture in the Palestine of late antiquity on the warp of a singular rabbinic text "Lamentations Rabbah". The textual analyses that form the core of the book are informed by a range of theoretical paradigms rarely brought to bear on rabbinic literature.Trade Review"Web of Life is a brilliant study that makes an ancient text relevant to the modern reader . . . Hasan-Rokem demonstrates not only a thorough scholarly knowledge of folklore and Jewish studies, but also a familiarity with current theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretation."—Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania"Hasan-Rokem provides a deeply suggestive analysis of the poignant midrashic text, Lamentations Rabbah, employing and blending folkloristic techniques, structural analysis of mythologies, feminist theory, cultural criticism and other theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretive techniques . . . This is an engaging and enlightening book."—Religious Studies Review"By adding the folkloristic dimension to the scholarly discourse associated with amoraic stories, Hasan-Rokem's book addresses a long-felt need . . . [Hasan-Rokem] is the first to present a comprehensive discussion associating folklore with rabbinics."—Hebrew Studies"Lamentations Rabbah presents Jewish society in its daily, but not mundane, actions. It is a literature of disaster, of personal and collective tragedy that leaves the reader pondering the meaning of life. The breadth of folklore enables Hasan-Rokem to explore these tales in a multifaceted analysis that situates them in the their textual, historical and comparative contexts and that transcends them all by presenting narratives and riddles as a search for meaning."—Dan Ben-Amos, University of PennsylvaniaTable of ContentsPreface 1. The study of folk narratives in Rabbini literature 2. The literary context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: interpreting narrative structure 3. The genre context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: riddles about the wise people of Jerusalem 4. The comparative context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: tales of dream interpretation 6. The social context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the feminine power of laments, tales, and love 7. The religious context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the rhetoric of intimacy as a rhetoric of the sacred 8. The historical context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: three tales on Messianism Epilogue: Rabbi Joshua's Odyssey Notes Bibliography Index.

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Book SynopsisWeb of Life weaves its suggestive interpretation of Jewish culture in the Palestine of late antiquity on the warp of a singular, breathtakingly tragic, and sublime rabbinic text, Lamentations Rabbah. The textual analyses that form the core of the book are informed by a range of theoretical paradigms rarely brought to bear on rabbinic literature: structural analysis of mythologies and folktales, performative approaches to textual production, feminist theory, psychoanalytical analysis of culture, cultural criticism, and folk narrative genre analysis.The concept of context as the hermeneutic basis for literary interpretation reactivates the written text and subverts the hierarchical structures with which it has been traditionally identified. This book reinterprets rabbinic culture as an arena of multiple dialogues that traverse traditional concepts of identity regarding gender, nation, religion, and territory. The author''s approach is permeated by the idea that scTrade Review"Web of Life is a brilliant study that makes an ancient text relevant to the modern reader . . . Hasan-Rokem demonstrates not only a thorough scholarly knowledge of folklore and Jewish studies, but also a familiarity with current theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretation."—Dan Ben-Amos, University of Pennsylvania"Hasan-Rokem provides a deeply suggestive analysis of the poignant midrashic text, Lamentations Rabbah, employing and blending folkloristic techniques, structural analysis of mythologies, feminist theory, cultural criticism and other theoretical trends in literary analysis and interpretive techniques . . . This is an engaging and enlightening book."—Religious Studies Review"By adding the folkloristic dimension to the scholarly discourse associated with amoraic stories, Hasan-Rokem's book addresses a long-felt need . . . [Hasan-Rokem] is the first to present a comprehensive discussion associating folklore with rabbinics."—Hebrew Studies"Lamentations Rabbah presents Jewish society in its daily, but not mundane, actions. It is a literature of disaster, of personal and collective tragedy that leaves the reader pondering the meaning of life. The breadth of folklore enables Hasan-Rokem to explore these tales in a multifaceted analysis that situates them in the their textual, historical and comparative contexts and that transcends them all by presenting narratives and riddles as a search for meaning."—Dan Ben-Amos, University of PennsylvaniaTable of ContentsPreface 1. The study of folk narratives in Rabbini literature 2. The literary context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: interpreting narrative structure 3. The genre context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: riddles about the wise people of Jerusalem 4. The comparative context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: tales of dream interpretation 6. The social context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the feminine power of laments, tales, and love 7. The religious context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: the rhetoric of intimacy as a rhetoric of the sacred 8. The historical context of folk narratives in the Aggadic Midrash: three tales on Messianism Epilogue: Rabbi Joshua's Odyssey Notes Bibliography Index.

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Book SynopsisAlthough few recognize the name of Bras-Coupe today, Bryan Wagner's riveting history The Life and Legend of Bras-Coupe illustrates why the saga of this notorious escaped slave should be a touchstone among scholars and students of the African diaspora.

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Book SynopsisWith lush imagery and surprising syntactical turns, the poems in Doll Apollo merge mythology with close attention to the patterns, colours, and contours of the material world. Melissa Ginsburg’s feminist ecopoetics weaves the domestic and celestial into considerations of female identity, desire, spiritual yearning, and doubt.

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Book SynopsisWhen Rob Amberg first met Dellie Norton, she was 76 years old and had lived most of her life in the mountain community of Sodom Laurel, North Carolina. This work traces the relationship between them, years marked by the seasons of raising and harvesting food and by the gatherings of family.

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Book SynopsisThe essays in Women's Folklore, Women's Culture focus on women performers of folklore and on women's genre of folklore. Long ignored, women's folklore is often collaborative and frequently is enacted in the privacy of the domestic sphere. This book provides insights balancing traditional folklore scholarship. All of the authors also explore the relationship between make and female views and worlds. The book begins with the private world of women, performances within the intimacy of family and fields; it then studies women's folklore in the public arena; finally, the book looks at the interrelationships between public and private arenas and between male and female activities. By turning our attention to previously ignored women's realms, these essays provide a new perspective from which to view human culture as a whole and make Women's Folklore, Women's Culture a significant addition to folklore scholarshipTrade Review"The studies herein elevate the humble, examine the small domestic detail, set forth the praiseworthy in the everyday, seek joy in the ordinary, capture the comfort in the community of women and their collaboratieve atempts to define their worlds." * Journal of American Folklore *"Almost anyone concerned with women's studies of folklore will find something of interest in this collection of essays. From the dynamics of narration among women in a variety of settings to an ethnographic analysis of a quilting bee and examination of gender differences in joke telling, the essays are uniformly provocative and groundbreaking." * Library Journal *

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Book SynopsisIn Looking West, John D. Dorst examines a largely neglected pattern of seeing that stands in contrast to the universally familiar iconography.

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Blood Read is a fresh look at an old form, offering lively, lucid insights into the contemporary explosion of vampire fiction. Nothing else like it exists. This book should set the terms for discussion about vampires for some time to come."-Brian Attebery, Idaho State UniversityTable of ContentsForeword: Vampires—The Ancient Fear —Brian Aldiss Acknowledgments 1. Introduction: The Shape of Vampires —Joan Gordon, Veronica Hollinger 2. My Vampire, My Friend: The Intimacy Dracula Destroyed -Nina Auerbach 3. Metaphor into Metonymy: The Vampire Next Door —Jules Zanger 4. The Vampire as Alien in Contemporary Fiction —Margaret L. Carter 5. Sharper Than a Serpent's Tooth: The Vampire in Search of Its Mother —Joan Gordon 6. Meditations in Red: On Writing The Vampire Tapestry —Suzy McKee Charnas 7. Sang for Supper: Notes on the Metaphorical Use of Vampires in The Empire of Fear and Young Blood —Brian Stableford 8. Recasting the Mythology: Writing Vampire Fiction —Jewelle Gomez 9. Dieting and Damnation: Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire —Sandra Tomc 10. When Hollywood Sucks, or, Hungry Girls, Lost Boys, and Vampirism in the Age of Reagan —Nicola Nixon 11. Consuming Youth: The Lost Boys Cruise Mallworld —Rob Latham 12. The Gilda Stories: Revealing the Monsters at the Margins —Miriam Jones 13. Coming Out of the Coffin: Gay Males and Queer Goths in Contemporary Vampire Fiction —Trevor Holmes 14. Techno-Gothic Japan: From Seishi Yokomizo's The Death's-Head Stranger to Mariko Ohara's Ephemera the Vampire —Mari Kotani 15. Fantasies of Absence: The Postmodern Vampire —Veronica Hollinger Notes Works Cited Films Cited Index List of Contributors

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Book SynopsisNew Age Capitalism examines how Eastern and other non-Western traditions have been coopted by Western capitalism.Trade Review"New Age Capitalism reveals the sometimes hilarious ironies and contradictions that come with using the capitalist marketplace as a place to critique capitalism." * Joseph Turow, author of Breaking Up America: Advertisers and the New Media World *"New Age Capitalism represents a new, sophisticated-and in many ways daring-extension of folkloric concerns into the arena where ancient traditions, fads, popular culture, global economics, personal taste, and cultural worldview intersect. . . . Lau's compact book is a clever and helpful contribution to this enterprise." * Western Folklore *

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Book SynopsisWho would not shudder when entering the skeleton-lined cave of the queen of the dead? How would a young man and his sister escape from the prison of a treacherous sultan? How would a poor farmer gain the hand of the beautiful daughter of the wealthiest sheik? These and thirteen more tales are spun in this stunning collection of sixteen traditional stories from the Shia tribes of southern Iraq. Gathered in the late 1940s and deftly translated to capture the elegance of the originals, these tales are full of action, adventure, love, and humor and are sure to delight anyone who has ever fallen under the spell of the Scheherezade.Appearing here for the first time in paperback, the stories in Folktales from Iraq, each accompanied by specially commissioned engravings, allow the reader to travel to a distant, imaginary land swirling with great fortunes, terrifying predicaments, and quick-witted heroes.Trade Review"All Arabian Nights fans should welcome this book. . . . Highly entertaining." * Chicago Tribune *"Story-telling is dying out, so treasure these." * San Francisco Chronicle *"A welcome addition to the folklore library." * Journal of Folklore Research *

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Book SynopsisIn a book with interdisciplinary appeal, Bacchilega demonstrates both how the myth of legendary Hawai'i emerged and how this vision can be unmade and reimagined.Trade Review"Legendary Hawai'i is insightful, provocative, and thought-provoking. It forcefully illuminates the implications of tourism for a culture, and the ways in which seemingly simple transactions, such as a tourist brochure to bring tourists and dollars to the island, can work in insidious ways to actually undermine the very people it seems to be celebrating." * Journal of Folklore Research *"Legendary Hawai'i and the Politics of Place is an examination of cultural change through textual analysis, and within those boundaries it accomplishes quite a bit. . . . Bacchilega's close reading of texts and her nuanced explications of photographs are persuasive and reach important conclusions about cultural changes occurring in Hawaii, which may also apply to other colonized regions." * Journal of American History *"A work of vigilant scholarship and elegant exposition that unsettles long-taken-for-granted genres, modes of representation, narrative codes and ascribed roles." * Hawaiian Journal of History *"A fascinating, carefully researched, and accessible look at how indigenous Hawaiian stories were appropriated by non-Hawaiian scholars and writers and used to promote a 'legendary Hawai'i' that misrepresents Hawai'i and its indigenous people and their ways of viewing reality. The book is written with passion and commitment and restores to the original stories and their creators/tellers their true mana." * Albert Wendt *Table of ContentsPreface 1. Introduction 2. Hawai'i's Storied Places: Learning from Anne Kapulani Landgraf's ''Hawaiian View' 3. The Production of Legendary Hawai'i: Out of Place Stories I 4. Emma Nakuina's Hawaii: Its People, Their Legends: Out of Place Stories II 5. Stories in Place: Dynamics of Translation and Re-Cognition Notes Works Cited Index Acknowledgments

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Book SynopsisThe 1992 quincentennial of the encounter between the Old and New World resulted in a polarisation of hardened ideological positions on different ideas of America. This text demonstrates that both sides are interested in defending an idea of ""Americanness"".

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Book SynopsisExamines the horse's significance throughout Indian history from the arrival of the Indo-Europeans, followed by the people who became the Mughals (who imported Arabian horses) and the British (who imported thoroughbreds and Walers).

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Book SynopsisThe goals and challenges that face the Israelies are illustrated by the country's folk stories. These tales, gathered from the early settlers of the kibbutz, from immigrants who arrived in Israel after independence, and from ethnic groups, to create a panoramic view of this society. It is for anyone interested in folk stories and Israeli culture.

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Book SynopsisConsiders the influence of fairy tales on contemporary fiction, including the work of Margaret Atwood, A S Byatt, Angela Carter, Robert Coover, Salman Rushdie, and Jeanette Winterson. This title argues that fairy tales are one of the key influences on fiction and that they continue to shape literary trends.Trade ReviewAn excellent volume.... Contributors in each case go beyond what is 'usually said' to bring fresh insights to the works they discuss. - Danielle Roemer, associate professor of English at Northern Kentucky University and co-editor of Angela Carter and the Fairy Tale (Wayne State University Press, 2000)

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Book SynopsisExplores self-consciousness and metafictional awareness in modern fairy tale and its expression across literary fairy tale, popular fairy tale, and fairy-tale film. This title argues draws on the critical fields of postmodernism, narratological analysis, stucturalism, feminism, and performativity, without relying solely on any one perspective.

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