It has been quite a tumultuous year since I wrote my Folkdays post on bluebells last May. At that time, I was adjusting to a new normal of being locked-down in a city, with only a few spots of nature to be found. Now, I have moved back home, to a place where nature aboundsContinue reading “Folkdays: Snowdrops”
Tag Archives: folktales
Folkdays: Taylor Swift’s ‘folklore’
On Thursday 23 July, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift unexpectedly released a new studio album. This is not the kind of content I’d usually cover on this blog, least of all on a Folkdays post. Yet the album’s title – folklore – suggests something worth a closer look here. I’m not a music critic: this postContinue reading “Folkdays: Taylor Swift’s ‘folklore’”
Folkdays: Reviewing ‘The Selkie’
I was delighted when the wonderful Imogen Di Sapia sent me her book, ‘The Selkie: Weaving & The Wild Feminine’. At first glance, flicking through the pages, I was entranced at the beautiful craftmanship of the book itself. I would continue to be spellbound by the folktale, poems, and photographs contained inside. I only hadContinue reading “Folkdays: Reviewing ‘The Selkie’”
Folkdays: Folktale Closings
It has grown late, and the campfire has reduced to smouldering embers, which glow in the breeze that begins to creep in from the surrounding dark. As the flames recede, so does the story: both have spent hours dancing in the air, and both now begin to wane. The tale teller, as if to coaxContinue reading “Folkdays: Folktale Closings”
Folkdays: Rose Lore
FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. I’ve been working with roses quite a bit recently, as I’ve been making pigment from rose petals and using them to paint the flowers themselves. They’ve crept into my life in all sorts of other ways, too: I’ve recently written a piece about thorns (and the Anglo-Saxon runeContinue reading “Folkdays: Rose Lore”
Folkdays: Rainbows
FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. We’re living in a very precarious and frightening moment in time. Looking back through history, humanity has faced moments like this many times before; look through the lens of folklore and myth, and we see that humans have always been able to combat our fear with creativity. Today,Continue reading “Folkdays: Rainbows”
Folkdays: Folktale Openings
FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. Come and have a seat. The campfire has been lit, dusk is drawing on, and the golden flames appear ever more vivid as the sky darkens. Somewhere, a blackbird trills his evening song. Look into the depths of the fire. Perhaps you see blue there too, maybe green?Continue reading “Folkdays: Folktale Openings”
Folkdays: Bluebells
FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. I am blessed to have grown up in an area where bluebell woods abound. At this time of year, the Clent and Walton Hills, Uffmoor and Hagley Woods, and Wychbury Hillfort are carpeted with swathes of this beautiful flower. Though I cannot walk through these indigo seas thisContinue reading “Folkdays: Bluebells”
Folkdays: Reviewing Shakespeare and The Folktale
FOR MORE FOLKDAYS CONTENT, SEE MY BLOG. When I stumbled across a copy of Charlotte Artese’s book while Christmas shopping in Bath, I was compelled to buy it as a gift to myself. In the title alone, my two favourite topics for research were brought together: Shakespeare and the Folktale. I had, somewhat on theContinue reading “Folkdays: Reviewing Shakespeare and The Folktale”
New Thread: Folkdays
The third and final of my new threads is something I am calling ‘Folkdays’. A portmanteau of the words ‘Folklore Fridays’, these posts will explore a little element of folk culture: folktales, lore, or anything I find that fits in with my current research. As well as researching folklore for my own poetry, I amContinue reading “New Thread: Folkdays”
Nellie Cole 