I spend much of September and October on the road gathering with Independent Booksellers across the country at regional trade shows. This year I was in Baltimore, San Diego, Portland, Denver and Minneapolis. After reading that disheartening Atlantic article about our post-literacy it does my heart good to hear how booksellers are helping keep a love for books alive in their communities.
During these shows I stroll exhibitor booths on a personal scavenger hunt for the bits of folklore peeking out of covers and pages.
I spotted A History of Goblins in which Professor Matt King catalogs goblin figures from folklore and fiction. Apparently, he’s also creator of a roll playing game for group therapy!
Stacy Sivinski’s Fairy Tales of Appalachia from University of Tennessee Press presents both tales and discussion of gender balance in canonization of tales.
The Chelsea Green reps pitched me David Keohan’s The Wind Beneath the Stone about tracking down the Irish folk tradition of stone lifting.
The book I got most lost in was The Art of Fairy Tales by Joanna Ebenstein. Spanning the Arthur Rackham and Edmund Dulac illustrations you may recall from childhood fairy tale books to the visionary work of Leonora Carrington, whom I’ve already established I’m a fan girl for. The selection of art works depicting fairy tales, both familiar and new, is well worth a spot on a book stand or coffee table to peruse on darkening autumn evenings.
inspiration this month: Autumn Mornings
There are innumerable reasons I’m lucky to share a home with my brindle mutt, Maggie. One reason is that she needs to be taken out in the morning when the light is still low and the asparagus fronds still drip dew. Even though Autumn is my favorite season, it is too easy for me to get caught up in preparations for the day and forget to note the tone and quality of the day itself. Foggy and cool? Bright and crisp? Drizzly and full of bird song?
Maggie patrols the borders to chase out squirrels and the scent of last night’s marauding bunnies. I fill my lungs with morning air and make sure to touch the ground before returning inside to get started.
How are you relishing the season shift?