Myth, literature, art, music, mask theatre, feminist fairy tale scholarship, the history of women in the arts, and community activism in regards to sustainability issues, civil liberties, and the prevention of child abuse. I'm co-director of the Endicott Studio for Mythic Arts ; on the board of advisors for Mythic Journeys ; and an active member of the ACLU .
Good-hearted, community-minded people the world over.
"Braided Hair" by One Giant Leap
(with a menu of other videos at the end. For more
music video playlists, go here .)
"The Moving On Song" by Ewon MacColl,
performed by Chris Wood, Karine Polwart, & the MacColl Brothers
Barack Obama speaks to a Native American audience
on the Crow reservation, May 2008.
If you're interested in mythic arts, check out the Endicott Studio ,
and the extensive archives of The Journal of Mythic Arts .
And if you happen to live in England's West Country, visit
The Big Red Sofa , (run by Alan McGeorge & Dawn Wakefield)
for books, music, art exhibitions and events. I also recommend
The Dragon Temple School of Internal Martial Arts ,
run by my friend Damien Hackney, which has just started a
new class in Women's Iron Strength Kung Fu .
Lately I've been listening to: Seth Lakeman's new CD "Freedom Fields," Karine Polwart's new CD "The Earthly Spell," Bat for Lashes' "Fur and Gold," Calexico's "Garden Ruin," Ozomatli's "Don't Mess With the Dragon," and Old Crow Medicine Show's"Big Iron World." Other CDs in heavy rotation right now are by Ojos de Brujo, Balkan Beat Box, The Saw Doctors, Kate Rusby, Faithless, One Giant Leap, Snow Patrol, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams, Eleni Keraindrou, Mariza, Pura Fe, Primeaux and Mike, R. Carlos Nakai, Daughters of Elvin, and Anonymous 4.
Recently read and enjoyed: "The Third Angel" by Alice Hoffman, "People of the Whale" by Linda Hogan, "Territory" by Emma Bull, "Gospel of the Knife" by Will Shetterly, "Winter in Madrid" by C.J. Sansom, "Night Train to Lisbon" by Pascal Mercier, "Unaccustomed Earth" by Jhumpa Lahiri, "Maps and Legends" by Michael Chabon, "The Pankhursts: The History of One Radical Family" by Martin Pugh, "What's Going On?" by Mark Steel, "Real England: The Battle Against the Bland' by Paul Kingsnorth, "Red Bird: Poems" by Mary Oliver
The wallpaper on this page is the "Brer Rabbit" design by the great 19th century mythic artist, writer, and social activist William Morris.
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"Walking, I can almost hear the redwoods beating. And the oceans are above me here, rolling clouds, heavy and dark. It is winter and there is smoke from the fires. It is a world of elemental attention, of all things working together, listening to what speaks in the blood. Whichever road I follow, I walk in the land of many gods, and they love and eat one another. Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. Be still, they say. Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands."
-- Linda Hogan
(from Dwellings)
At night I dream that you and I are two plants
that grew together, roots entwined,
and that you know the earth and the rain like my mouth,
since we are made of earth and rain.
-- Pablo Neruda
(from "Rain")
...To live in this world
you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it
against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.
-- Mary Oliver
(from "In Blackwater Woods")
"Everyone, no matter what their cultural background, has a right to discover the sacred in nature; to heal and be redeemed spiritually by nature; and to revere the ancestors. We are all haunted and saved by our memories."
-- Martha Brooks
(from Bone Dance)
<br-- Martha Brooks
from Bone Dance