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Classical mythology: a very short introduction (Very Short Introductions)
By Helen Morales. 2007
Explores the psychologically important stories of ancient Greeks and Romans, still wielding cultural influence today. Dispels notion of comparative inferiority…
of Roman mythology, and discusses differences beyond deities' name changes. Describes the role of the mythic hero, and relationships between classical mythology and philosophy, Christianity, psychoanalysis, and New Age spirituality. 2007Kentucky folktales: revealing stories, truths, and outright lies
By Mary Hamilton. 2012
A collection of 26 stories, including folktales, legends, tall tales, and ghost stories. Professional storyteller Mary Hamilton ends each story…
with information on where she heard the story, where it takes place, and how the story has evolved over time. Winner of a 2013 Storytelling World award for storytelling collections and a 2013 Ann Izard Storyteller's Choice Award. 2012Chinese mythology: an introduction
By Anne M. Birrell. 1999
English translations of some three hundred representative myths from more than one hundred classical Chinese texts. Selections are grouped thematically…
covering topics such as creation, gods, divine birth, love, heroes, the natural world, and immortality. Includes introduction and explanatory notes analyzing the context and significance of each narrative. 1993Twenty tellable tales: audience participation folktales for the beginning storyteller
By Margaret Read MacDonald, Roxane Murphy. 2005
Master storyteller shares twenty classic multicultural tales adapted to oral presentation with chants, songs, and repeating lines. Offers tips on…
memorization, rehearsal, and performance as well as suggestions for developing style, finding new tales, creating variations, and involving listeners. Stories include explanatory notes. 2005Pete Seeger's storytelling book
By Pete Seeger, Paul DuBois Jacobs. 2000
Veteran folksinger Seeger and poet Jacobs offer advice on becoming a storyteller by embellishing old stories, historical tales, and songs,…
as well as anecdotes from one's own personal history. Includes examples from Seeger's vast repertoire. 2000Trickster makes this world: mischief, myth, and art
By Lewis Hyde. 1998
Explores the cultural archetype of the trickster--a mischievous, disruptive agent who is given to deceit and shamelessness, ignores social boundaries,…
and helps make the world the way it is. Recounts myths of ancient tricksters; cites examples of modern figures who fill the roleBest-loved stories told at the National Storytelling Festival
By National Association for the Preservation and Perpet. 1991
The National Storytelling Festi- val, annually commemorating the heritage and art of storytelling, has been held in Jonesborough, Tennessee, since…
1972. This volume honors the festival's twentieth anniversary. Included are thirty-seven tales that provide a wide variety of genres, sources, and colloquial voices. For junior and senior high and older readersTalk that talk: an anthology of African-American storytelling
By Linda Goss, Marian E. Barnes. 1989
The introduction states that stories preserve and pass on "the values that we cherish." This collection of black folklore presents…
animal stories, stories of family life, stories of historical figures and events, sermons, and supernatural stories. Each section includes scholarly commentary. For high school and older readersMedusa's gaze and vampire's bite: the science of monsters
By Matt Kaplan. 2012
Science journalist examines ancient and modern myths of monsters, from the Nemean Lion of ancient Greece to King Kong and…
the Terminator. Uses archaeology and other disciplines to theorize on the sources of these tales and the reasons they fascinate us. Young adult appeal. Some violence. 2012The mythology of grimm: the fairy tale and folklore roots of the popular tv show
By Nathan Robert Brown. 2014
The author explores the history, mythology, and folkloric traditions that come into play during Nick's incredible battles and investigations as…
a Portland Police detective on the supernatural drama series Grimm. Some violence and some strong language. 2014Battles, Betrayals, and Brotherhood: Early Chinese Plays on the Three Kingdoms
By Wilt L. Idema, Stephen H. West. 2005
No cycle of historical legends has enjoyed greater or more enduring popularity in China than that of the Three Kingdoms,…
which recounts the dramatic story of the civil wars (c. AD 180-220) that divided the old Han empire into the Shu-Han, Wei, and Wu states, and the eventual reunification of the realm under the Western Jin in AD 280.Struwwelpeter
By Heinrich Hoffmann. 1999
The Disney Middle Ages
By Tison Pugh, Susan Aronstein. 2012
For many, the middle ages depicted in Walt Disney movies have come to figure as the middle ages, forming the…
earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary Western (and increasingly Eastern) imagination. The essayists of The Disney Middle Ages explore Disney's mediation and re-creation of a fairy-tale and fantasy past, not to lament its exploitation of the middle ages for corporate ends, but to examine how and why these medieval visions prove so readily adaptable to themed entertainments many centuries after their creation. What results is a scrupulous and comprehensive examination of the intersection between the products of the Disney Corporation and popular culture's fascination with the middle ages.The Story Is True: The Art and Meaning of Telling Stories
By Bruce Jackson. 2007
Making and experiencing stories, remembering and retelling them is something we all do. We tell stories over meals, at the…
water cooler, and to both friends and strangers. But how do stories work? What is it about telling and listening to stories that unites us? And, importantly, how do we change them-and how do they change us? InThe Story Is True, author, filmmaker, and photographer Bruce Jackson explores the ways we use the stories that become a central part of our public and private lives. He examines, as no one before has, how stories narrate and bring meaning to our lives, by describing and explaining how stories are made and used. The perspectives shared in this engaging book come from the tellers, writers, filmmakers, listeners, and watchers who create and consume stories. Jackson writes about his family and friends, acquaintances and experiences, focusing on more than a dozen personal stories, from oral histories, such as conversations the author had with poet Steven Spender, to public stories, such as what happened when Bob Dylan "went electric"at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Jackson also investigates how "words can kill," showing how diction can be an administrator of death, as in Nazi extermination camps. And finally, he considers the way lies come to resemble truth, showing how the stories we tell, whether true or not, resemble truth to the teller. Ultimately,The Story Is Trueis about the place of stories-fiction or real-and the impact they have on the lives of each one of us.Mulan: Five Versions of a Classic Chinese Legend, with Related Texts
By Wilt L. Idema, Shiamin Kwa. 2010
The legend of Mulan--the daughter who disguises herself as a man, dons her father's armor, and heads off to war…
in his place--remains one of the most popular Chinese folktales despite (or because of) its lack of supernatural demonstrations or interventions.This volume offers lively translations of the earliest recorded version of the legend and several later iterations of the tale (including the screenplay of the hugely successful 1939 Chinese film Mulan Joins the Army), illustrating the many ways that reinterpretations of this basic story reflect centuries of changes in Chinese cultural, political, and sexual attitudes.An Introduction traces the evolution of the Mulan legend and its significance in the history of Chinese popular culture. Annotation explaining terms and references unfamiliar to Western readers, a glossary, and a comprehensive bibliography further enhance the value of this volume for both scholars and students.Stance: Ideas about Emotion, Style, and Meaning for the Study of Expressive Culture (Music Culture)
By Harris M. Berger. 1997
Why does music move us? How do the immediate situation and larger social contexts influence the meanings that people find…
in stories, rituals, or films? How do people engage with the images and sounds of a performance to make them come alive in sensuous, lived experience? Exploring these questions, Stance presents a major new theory of emotion, style, and meaning for the study of expressive culture. In clear language, the book reveals dimensions of lived experience that everyone is aware of but that scholars rarely account for.Though music is at the heart of the book, its arguments are illustrated with a wide range of clear examples--from the heavy metal concert to the recital hall, from festivals to dance, stand-up comedy, the movies, and beyond. Helping ethnographers get closer to the experiences of the people with whom they work, this book will be of immediate interest to anyone in ethnomusicology, folklore, popular music studies, anthropology, or performance studies.Tales of the Samurai: More Samurai Tales Of The Tokugawa Ii
By James S. de Benneville. 1986
A young lord undertakes the restoration of his family's fortunes and honor in this gripping retelling of a 15th-century Japanese…
epic. Gripping and evocative, it recounts the rebellions, plots, and battles that culminate in a vendetta's thrilling resolution. James S. de Benneville's Western-style narrative offers an exceptionally faithful retelling. 44 black-and-white illustrations.Hans Christian Andersen's Fairy Tales: An Illustrated Classic (An illustrated Classic Ser.)
By Joan D Vinge, Kay Nielsen, Hans Christian Andersen. 2014
Some of our most well-known tales were originated by the pen of Hans Christian Andersen. A prolific writer, Andersen’s oeuvre…
includes plays, novels, and poems but he is most well-regarded for his fairy tales. Stories such as "The Princess and the Pea”,” "The Ugly Duckling,” and "The Emperor’s New Clothes” are incredibly well-known and all from the mind of this illustrious fairy tale author. This lovely edition features color and black and white illustrations by Danish artist Kay Nielsen as well as all new foreword by Joan D. Vinge. There is an otherworldly quality in Nielsen’s art-deco styled pieces that provide adventurous and vibrant versions of these sixteen stories. The art still feels completely fresh and unique in this collection of masterworks featuring including "The Nightingale,” "The Red Shoes,” "The Snow Queen,” and others. These enchanting stories are wonderful for children, and collectors of fine art alike. Experience these classics again, and pick up this beautiful edition of Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tales.The Nutcracker: The Original Holiday Classic
By E. T. Hoffman. 2018
On Christmas Eve, seven-year-old Marie and her eight-year-old brother Fritz anxiously await their Christmas gifts. When their godfather—a clock builder…
and toymaker—arrives, he unveils an ornate clockwork castle adorned with whirling figurines for the children. While Fritz plays with the clock, Marie is taken aside and given another gift—a nutcracker. After Fritz grabs the nutcracker from Marie and breaks its jaw by cracking too many nuts, their playtime ends and they head off to bed. When the clock strikes twelve, magic makes its way into this enduring tale and an epic battle ensues. This timeless classic, featuring all-new full-color and black-and-white illustrations by artist Arkady Roytman and abridged text by Gina Gold, is the perfect story to get anyone in the holiday spirit!Indian Fairy Tales
By Joseph Jacobs. 2009
Soils and national characteristics differ, but fairy tales are the same in plot and incidents the world over. So proved…
the leading British folklorist Joseph Jacobs (1854-1916) with this now classic volume of 29 traditional tales from India, including some of the oldest recorded tales known."The Lion and the Crane," "How the Raja's Son Won the Princess Labam," "The Broken Pot," "The Tiger, the Brahman, and the Jackal," "The Talkative Tortoise," "The Ass in the Lion's Skin," "Why the Fish Laughed," "Sun, Moon, and Wind Go Out to Dinner," "The Prince and the Fakir," and all the other stories make delightful reading or listening for youngsters who are tired of the same familiar old favorites. John D. Batten's nine full-page plates and his 37 other drawings are reproduced from the original edition.