A Pied Piper Mystery

Kate Greenaway’s illustration for Robert Browning’s 1888 poem, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pied_Piper2.jpg

hile the Pied Piper of Hamelin is undeniably a fairy tale, it’s uniquely grounded in real-world specifics – the date for one – June 26. That’s the date in 1284 when the town lost a significant portion of its population, a matter treated as fact in the first written allusion to the incidents, the initial […]

Some Words About ‘The Quiet Music’ from Jackie Morris

String of Stars © Jackie Morris

At present I am tangled in brambles and ivy, steeped in acorns and oak and painting the rhythm of the air as it moves through the feathers of a raven’s wing. I am working, as ever, on a new book, The Lost Words, written by Robert MacFarlane, illustrated by me, to be published by Hamish […]

Wobbly Poets: Joe Hill, Signe Aurell, and Scandinavian-American Laborlore

We perform our identity in different ways. Some of us make sure that everyone at the library knows that Folklore Rules! (Photo © Amber Rose. “Folklore Rules” sticker from Lynne S. McNeill and her book Folklore Rules.)

The songs and poetry of the American labor movement are an example of occupational folklore or ‘laborlore’, which records worker voices and traditions.

Michaelmas: The Day the Devil Spits on the Blackberries?

The Devil's Blackberries

On Michaelmas Day the Devil takes possession of the blackberries and to eat one after that day would risk… well, something on the spectrum between a bad taste and instant death.

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