The Folklore Podcast

In the final episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club for 2021, guest reviewer Bethan Briggs-Miller (Eerie Essex podcast) speaks with author Clio Velentza about her modern reworking of the Faust story, "The Piano Room", published by Fairlight Books.The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of The Folklore Network. To support our work preserving folklore for the future, please visit our Patreon page.

Guest reviewer Hilary Wilson speaks with Dr Maria DeBlassie about her book "Weep Woman Weep" which centres around the Mexican legend of La Llorona. The discussion takes in a diverse range of topics from urban legend to New Mexico folk medicine via the decolonisation of the diet and more.Visit Maria's website hereTo support our work saving and preserving folklore for the future, please visit our Patreon page.

Hearing stories. Telling stories. Adapting stories. The power of stories...We speak with Nydia Hetherington, author of "A Girl Made of Air" and Molly Aitken, author of "The Island Child" about their use of folklore and story in their novels. For Nydia, these stories are drawn from Manx folklore which Molly's book is firmly rooted in Irish lore.The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of the Folklore Network; committed to collect, preserve and make available folklore material in all forms for the future. To support our work, please visit our Patreon page or visit our website here where you can learn more and make a one-off donation.

Lindsay Sharman and Laurence Owen of Long Cat Media, the creators of fiction podcast Mockery Manor, discuss working with themes of folklore and fairy tale in the construction of their popular show. We examine some of the folklore which has found its way into Mockery Manor as well as a wider discussion of this way of telling stories.Visit Long Cat Media on the web hereTo support our work at The Folklore Network in collecting and preserving folklore in all forms for the future, please visit our Patreon page here or visit our website to learn more

In this episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club, Jhenah Telyndru joins us to discuss her book examining the Welsh Goddess character Blodeuwedd, whose complexity makes her much misunderstood. Jhenah hold an MA in Celtic Studies from the University of Wales and approaches the subject both from the academic angle and also from her own spiritual side, bringing a unique perspective to the subject.Blodeuwedd is published by Moon Books, whose website is hereVisit Jhenah's website hereThe Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of the Folklore Network, striving to collect and preserve folklore for the future. You can support us on Patreon or click here for more information.

Sculptor Aidan Harte joins podcast host Mark Norman to discuss the figure of the Pooka in Irish folklore, as well as the recent controversy surrounding the design for a statue of the beast which he was commissioned to produce for the town of Ennistymon.This episode also features musician Enda Haran performing his protest song about the Ennistymon Pooka.Visit Aidan's homepage hereVisit Enda Haran Music hereThe Folklore Podcast is part of the Folklore Network, working to collect and preserve our folklore for the future. To help us undertake this vital work, please visit our Patreon page or make a small donation on our website.

Host Mark Norman is joined by Nina Allan, author of 'The Dollmaker' to discuss her novel 'The Good Neighbours' which fuses crime investigation, the power of myth is shaping human narratives and the world of fairy belief.We discuss some of the themes of the book, including the work of Victorian painter Richard Dadd, whose most famous work 'The Fairy Feller's Master Stroke' adorns the cover of the novel and beliefs in the world of fairy.Visit Nina's website hereThe Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of The Folklore Network, which strives to collect and preserve folklore materials for future generations, housing them in The Folklore Library and Archive. Please share our work and, if you can, support us here for extra content.

Folklore Podcast creator and host Mark Norman is joined by Gabriela Houston, author of the fantasy novel 'The Second Bell' to discuss the folklore of her native Poland. Gabriela uses various aspects of Slavic lore, in particular a reworking of the traditions relating to striga, in this book, although the conversation branches out far more into various aspects of folklore including healers, superstition and all things monstrous.The Folklore Podcast is part of The Folklore Network, which aims to protect and preserve our folklore for future generations. To help support what we do, please consider a small donation via our website or joining our Patreon page.

In an episode of The Folklore Podcast Book Club which is a continuation of our discussion with Prof. Jack Zipes on the main podcast, guest reviewer Hilary Wilson talks with artist Natalie Frank about her collaboration visualising the fairy tales in the book 'The Island of Happiness' from Princeton University Press. The Folklore Podcast Book Club is part of The Folklore Network, collecting, conserving and preserving folklore for the future. You can support our work on Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/thefolklorepodcast or by making a donation on the website at http://www.thefolklorepodcast.com Music: 'November' by Kai Engel. CC BY 4.0. Click here to see Kai's catalogue.

When we think of tellers and recorders of fairy tales, our mind naturally turns to Hans Christian Andersen, Charles Perrault or, of course, the Grimm Brothers. And yet, the 17th century French writer who actually coined the term ‘conte de fee’, or fairytale, when she published her major collection of them in 1697 goes largely unremembered - sidelined perhaps because of her gender at a time when such prominence amongst women was sadly much more rare. That writer, who compiled the original collection in the French language, was Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, known more colloquially as Madame d’Aulnoy. Her work is not often found in English-language volumes, but is rather sidelined to one or two translated stories being put into anthologies alongside other writers. But in April of this year, Princetown University Press released a new English collection of Madame d’Aulnoy’s tales, beautifully visualised by Natalie Frank and translated by the eminent Professor Jack Zipes. The book, called The Island of Happiness features a new translation of The Tale of Mira, one of d’Aulnoy’s earlier stories in which the beautiful protagonist kills any man who falls in love with her, before herself falling for a man who is indifferent to her. In this episode of The Folklore Podcast, guest interviewer Hilary Wilson speaks to the eminent Professor Jack Zipes, translator of D'Aulnoy's works and expert on the literary fairy tale. on the life of Madame D'Aulnoy. To support all of the Folklore Podcast Network's projects and help to enable us to continue providing free access to the world's experts in folklore and their materials, please visit our Patreon page or made a small donation via our website.