Friday, August 28, 2015

Putting out feelers in the UnTextbook

My personal fascination with mythology and folklore began at a very early age.  Upon the built-in cabinets of our early 1900s house set a beautifully illustrated set of books depicting everything from dragons to giants, water nymphs and fairies, to the Grim and bean sí. For hours I lost my self in the pages, frightening myself with the eerie renderings.  Years later when I was finally able to read the books, I became obsessed. 

I hope to regain some of that youthful magic by revisiting remembered themes. The first reading set to catch my eye was the Celtic Fairy Tales II unit.  Both the Children of Lir and and Cormac’s story seem familiar.   I also really enjoyed MacConglinney’s Vision and have a story stirring in the back of my mind for it. 

The Faerie Queene unit also looks intriguing and I especially want to read the part B.  Stories in which the Fae attempt to trick mortals usually end in the death of the human but every once in a while the human can win by using the Fae’s love of honesty against them. I'm hoping to find some stories like this in this unit.  

I would also like to read one or two of the Grimm units (maybe Librivox and Crane) because these stories are sometimes retold in popular culture.  The Robber Bridegroom grabs my attention right off the bat. From the Grim that I have read, I know that the endings do not typically end happily like Disney would like you to think.


I read a few of the Italian tales and was surprised to see a familiar theme in Zelinda and the Monster, or should I say Beauty and the Beast.  Reading B of the English Fairy Tale II also grabbed my attention with Catskin and Children of the Woods.

My favorite image upon browsing the untextbook is from The Vision of MacCoglinney.  
When I first saw this image, I had no idea what the story was about but it grabbed my attention.  I personally would have chosen something bacon-themed but the image is unsettling in a good way.  

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