21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH
UK
Ravens that speak, a woman who lives at the edge of the world, a door locked by a king – such images act deeply in our imagination… but what does it all mean?
Join mythologist and storyteller Dr. Martin Shaw as he tells the Indo-European wondertale, popularised by the Brothers Grimm, Faithful John – with live simultaneous commentary! Part performance, part talk, part story, part musing on meaning; this will be an evening of asides, prevarications, provocations and footnotes.
Dr Shaw will pay particular attention to the relationships between the concept of initiation, multi-layered fairytale content, and the world we actually live in. And he’ll make the bold assertion that we don’t have the stories; instead it’s the stories that have us…! Whether he’s right or not will be for you to ponder on….
‘Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope’ Dr. Seuss
MARTIN SHAW is a man who sometimes keeps a bear under his chair. An award winning author, storyteller and director of the West Country School of Myth in Devon; he devised and led the Oral Tradition course at Stanford University, and is principal teacher at the Great Mother Conference in the United States. His translations of Gaelic and Welsh folklore (with Tony Hoagland) have been published in the Mississippi Review, Poetry International, Kenyon Review, Orion, Poetry Magazine. David Abram describes his latest book, Snowy Tower, as ‘an outrageous piece of magic’, and Robert Bly describes him as ‘a true master’. www.schoolofmyth.com
‘an outrageous piece of magic’ David Abram
TIMETABLE
7.00pm Talk begins
8.15pm Audience Wine & Conversation (timing may vary)
9.15pm Event finishes (timing may vary, depending on how much chattering goes on)
Swedenborg House, 20-21 Bloomsbury Way, London WC1A 2TH
Suitable for adults
Cost: £8 (plus booking fee) and include a glass of wine and nibbles.