"THE NAMES UPON THE HARP", written by Marie Heaney and illustrated by P. J. Lynch I had planned to write a post about this book while it was still March, so that I could include it in my "All Things Celtic" theme. However, I only received the book today. I'm going to write about it anyway, so just pretend it's still March (we have plenty of snow piles to make it seem so). I learned about the book while I was writing my previous post about Niamh and Oisin. I discovered it only after I had found several wonderful illustrations for it from the gallery of P. J. (Patrick James) Lynch, a famous Irish artist. According to the book, since childhood Lynch "has had images of Finn, the son of Cumhaill, and leader of the Fianna; Conor MacNessa, the King of Ulster; and Cuchulainn, the great hero, in his head. But only in collaboration with a story teller as respected as Marie Heaney did he feel ready to commit his images to paper." Aiofe puts a spell on her stepchildren, turning them into swans in "The Children of Lir" Heaney, by the way, is the wife of famous Irish poet Seamus Heaney and a well respected writer and preserver of Irish folklore in her own right. So far I have only had time to peruse the fabulous illustrations, but I will get around to reading the tales soon. There are eight of them (plus one poem): "Moytura", "The Children of Lir", "The Birth of Cuchulainn", "Bricriu's Feast", "Deirdre of the Sorrows", "Finn and the Salmon of Knowledge", "The Enchanted Deer" and "Oisin in the Land of Youth." Of the many characters in these stories, I had only heard of Cuchulainn, Deirdre, Oisin and Lugh of the Long Arm (from "Moytura"), so I have a lot of information to absorb! The beautiful Eithlinn, held captive in a tower, from "Moytura" Heaney divides her book into three categories: "The Mythological Cycle", "The Ulster Cycle" and "The Finn Cycle". She gives a brief description of each of these cycles before relating the tales from them. I found this very useful, as I have run into these titles many times without really grasping what they meant. From "Oisin in the Land of Youth" "Fiercely fought battles, tender romances, spells and curses, loyalty and betrayal: the stuff of great drama, and unforgettable storytelling." That's what the publishers promise. I can't wait to immerse myself in these stories. Of them, Heaney says "What ensures their place in world literature is their agelessness, their value as expressions of the perennial art of the storyteller." Through the millenia, these legends would have been lost forever if not for raconteurs and scribes like her. Fomorian leader Balor of the Evil Eye, from "Moytura" Although I found most of the illustrations to be stunningly beautiful, there are some ugly ones too (like Balor, above, who could slay 100 men with one glance), and even gruesome (a severed head), so you may want to check out the book before giving it to a child. Supposedly, this book is for children about the age of 8 or 9. But I certainly found it to be enjoyable at the adult level. In fact, Heaney tells these great Irish legends far better than any version I have yet seen! I especially appreciated the pronunciation guide, as I have a tendency to pronounce them as they're spelled, e.g. oy-zin instead of ush-een (Oisin), loog instead of loo (Lugh) and ay-oi-fuh instead of eef-eh (Aoife). The book retails at $19.95 but I was able to find a perfect used copy for $8.00 on amazon.com. I will also be looking for Heaney's other book, "Over Nine Waves: A Book of Irish Legend." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "You and I leave names upon the harp" Cuchulainn to Conor, from "Baile's Strand" by W. B. Yeats
signed and numbered in pencil on verso
I started with almost 100, but soon there'll be 1000 (depending on how much I want to avoid actual work)! Some are cheap shots, like usi...
faceless embraces 1. alex & lutz back, 1992, ph. wolfgang tillmans 2. ph. nan goldin 3. love-In, los angeles, 1967 ph. jerry de wilde 4. joseph lorusso, “cafe lovers 4” (detail) 5. el lenguaje del...
Teenage Chaperone Party, 1952 Loomis Dean
A Who's Who of '60s pop culture: Marilyn, Sinatra, Brando, the Beatles, Liz Taylor, Elvis, Brigitte Bardot, Natalie Wood and more.
Thank you for your gift, it's beautifully packaged. That's very kind of you. Well, let's go then. It happens to be the fresh fruit season and there is a beverage recipe I would like to try. Please do me the honor and join me for a drink. What you think always matters to me.
Me voilà taguée par Géraldine... une adorable compatriote qui a eu la chance de vivre quelques années à New York et avec qui j'ai de nombreux, nombreux points communs... alors voici les questions que Géraldine m'a concocté et mes honnêtes réponses:...
These moving images capture a different side of the Aids crisis.
Faerie sisters. Cabinet card. Ca.1890-1900.
This page is simply a celebration of witches past and present.. Some are particularly famous, some particularly infamous..All are worthy of note and all are deserving of their place in history. If …
Le mascotte della pubblicità
The best ambrotype ever taken in the history of life. These people are PIMPIN.
French cliches et the fine art of bobo upkeep *les photos appartiennent à Pinterest et Instagram aka "not mine" B i S o U s
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The Ruins of Lace by Iris Anthony is a compelling, deeply-researched and revealing novel about the illicit lace "sweat-shops" of the 17th century. From the publisher: An enthralling novel centered around the mad French passion for forbidden Flemish bobbin lace in the 1600s, from a writer whose work has been called "unexpected, haunting and powerful" by her readers. For those who want something they don't have, Flemish lace can buy almost anything — or anyone. You don't have to go far to find glowing rave reviews about this novel! I'm pleased to have the author Iris Anthony here to answer a few questions about this fascinating subject. When was lace outlawed in France ... and why? Louis XIII issued five sumptuary edicts that placed prohibitions and restrictions on clothing and on April 3, 1636, he forbid the wearing of lace altogether. That’s the edict which provided for confiscation, fines, and banishment from the kingdom. {17th-century bobbin lace.} Sumptuary edicts were enacted across Europe during this time period. The reasons were several. In France’s case, money was being lost across the border through lace purchases Flanders and Italy at a time when the King desperately needed money to fill his treasury due to expenses from wars and other pet projects. It was hoped that forbidding the wearing of lace would keep all that money in France and, therefore, available to the King. Another reason is more difficult for our modern minds to understand. Europeans had a great need to keep everyone in their place. Most of these sumptuary edicts were very explicit about who could wear what: Princes of the Blood could wear cloth of gold; other princes were only allowed to wear cloth of silver. Dukes could wear gold lace; earls could only wear gold trim, etc., etc. Ever since Europeans first started visiting America as ‘tourists’, they’ve been appalled that they couldn’t tell who was who. Since the founding of the U.S., part of being an American was the ‘right’ to purchase what we wanted to and wear the things that we wanted to wear. In Europe, even an extremely wealthy merchant couldn’t wear cloth of silver, for instance, or lace in our case. In the colonial period the sumptuary laws transferred to the New World, but once the U.S. was established as a nation, if you had the money, no one would stop you from buying (and wearing) what you wanted to. These edicts seem very much like quibbling to us, but they were important tools for social control. {Lace in the 17th-century.} Finally, King Louis XIII himself was quite ascetic. He did what he had to in order to be kingly, but he was very austere. He wasn’t into the whole musketeer look (floppy boots, huge hats, big ruffled lace collars). He was called ‘The Just’ because he really did try to enforce the rules he made (when violations were brought to his attention). He killed the noble who plotted against Richelieu, for instance, in the Chalais Conspiracy. He also executed a court favorite who insisted upon dueling after he had forbidden it. The King was derailed from his natural penchant for justice when his mother and his brother started conspiring against him, but in general, he wanted order. And he didn’t approve of conspicuous consumption. Obviously, many of those at court did since he kept having to issue sumptuary edicts, but that seemed to be how it went back then just about everywhere. {Portrait of Louis XIV.} Louis XIV, his son, had a different focus. He loved glitz and glamor. The more of it, the better! He actively encouraged his nobles to partake in lavishness. He wasn’t personally against lace and consumption the way his father had been. He did, however, have a huge need for funding his wars. Colbert (his minister) decided not only to forbid luxury goods in France (as Louis XIII had done), but also encouraged the creation of domestic rip-offs. For a while, the rip-offs were just that, but eventually, they became even more desired than the foreign goods they had been copied from. The association of France with luxury goods began during Louis XIV’s reign under Colbert’s guiding hand. All of the famous French laces date from that period. The French perfume industry developed then. The glass industry came of age, as did luxury textiles. {Girls making bobbin lace.} What was the result of the sumptuary laws? Like any law, sumptuary laws had unintended consequences. The moment it was forbidden, lace became even more highly prized than it had been. And whenever anything becomes illegal, criminals add it to their list of ways to make money. The result was a surprising paradox: the pairing of ‘smuggling’ and ‘lace’. {"The Lacemaker" by Vermeer.} What were the working conditions like for the lace-makers? Horrible. Since the lace had to be spotless, lace makers worked their long hours in workshops without heat or light. Fire, in any form, produced soot and ashes which would have soiled the lace. Often workshops were housed beside or above stables so that body heat from animals would keep the lace makers from freezing. Because they worked without light, most lace makers were blind by the age of thirty. Because the work was so tedious, their fingers and backs became crippled and deformed. You researched this subject extensively. What surprised you? People and their infinite creativity in finding new ways to maltreat both each other and animals. Whenever I wander through history I’m both amazed and appalled at how similar we are to our forebears. Thank you, Iris! The lace illustrations are from Iris's Pinterest board. I will soon have more on my own blog about Iris's fascinating research and writing processes. Sandra Gulland Author of The Josephine B. Trilogy and Mistress of the Sun ============================================= WEBSITE: http://www.sandragulland.com/ BLOG: http://bit.ly/TheWritingLife FACEBOOK: http://on.fb.me/SGFBpage TWITTER: http://twitter.com/Sandra_Gulland GOODREADS: http://www.goodreads.com/SandraGulland =============================================
I want my fellow queers to SEE me.
