Folklore & Fiction

An important announcement about the future of the Folklore & Fiction project. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/one-door-closes-another-opens)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in December 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. At the summer and winter solstices, I mimic the sun and pause to reflect on my own creative work.  In this edition, I'm discussing myth in fiction with my short story "T Is for Three (at the End of All Things)," which was published in the C is for Chimera anthology. Because the story is only about a thousand words long, and  because it's a creation myth, I'm reading the whole story in the  podcast. Hope you enjoy it. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/winter-solstice-newsletter-2020)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in November 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about performance with help from scholars Dan Ben-Amos, Roger D. Abrahams, Richard Bauman, and others, author and playwright William Shakespeare, and the McGahan Lees Irish Dance Academy. I'm also exploring possible uses of performance in storytelling. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-performance)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in October 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about child lore with help from scholars Gary Alan Fine and others, author Philip Pullman, and The Choral Scholars of University College Dublin. I'm also exploring the use of child lore in storycraft and providing you with an exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-child-lore)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in September 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about language and verbal lore with help from scholars J.L. Austin and Richard Bauman, author Frank Herbert, Swedish performers Emma Åslund and Åsa Larsson, and others. I'm also exploring the use of language and verbal lore in storycraft and providing you with an exercise on the topic. Settle in, friends! I squeezed a discussion of conspiracy theories into my newsletter schedule last month, so this is nearly a double edition. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-language-and-verbal-lore)

This edition is a departure from my promised two-part discussion of language and verbal lore, which will be condensed and presented in a single edition next month. Instead, I'm answering the call of folklore scholar Phillips Stevens Jr., who argues that folklorists are uniquely qualified to address harmful collective narratives and because of this, they have "a professional and moral responsibility to share their knowledge." I'm also following the lead of Timothy Tangherlini and his fellow scholars, who write that "people are making real-world, and at times violent or dangerous, decisions based on informal stories that circulate on and across their social networks, and that conspiracy theories are a significant part of that storytelling." With these arguments in mind, I'll endeavour to provide you with an accessible introduction to narrative scholarship on the topic of conspiracy theories and summarize my discussion with a list of questions you can use to evaluate the trustworthiness of narratives you encounter online and elsewhere. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-conspiracy-theory)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in July 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about material culture with help from the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, scholars Judith Farquhar and Simon Bronner, The Joy of Vegan Baking, and the 2005 science fiction film Serenity. I'm also discussing the use of material culture in storycraft and providing you with an exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-material-culture)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in June 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. At the summer and winter solstices, I mimic the sun and pause to reflect on my own creative work. In this edition, I'm discussing representation issues in fiction with a passage from my short story "D is for Duel/One Who Dies as a God Dies," which was published in the D is for Dinosaur anthology. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/summer-solstice-newsletter-2020)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in May 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about folk customs with help from scholars Richard Sweterlitsch and Wayland Hand, author Naomi Novik, and friends Vigdís Andersen and Sveinn Svavarsson, among others. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-folk-custom)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in April 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing curses with help from scholars Natalie Underberg, Evangelos Gr. Avdikos, and others, outlining the use of curses in storytelling, and providing you with an example and a reflective writing exercise. If you're new to the podcast or missed March 2020's "What is a charm?" edition, do go back and check it out before engaging with this one. Many folklore scholars agree that curses may be viewed as negative charms, and with that in mind, this discussion is an extension of the last one. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-curse)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a supplementary newsletter in March 2020, shortly after the pandemic was declared. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing the value of keeping a journal you can pass on to others. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/folklore-fiction-supplement-keeping-journal-uncertain-times)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in March 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing charms with help from scholars J. Stanley Hopkins, Jonathan Roper, and others, discussing the use of charms in storycraft, and providing you with an example and an exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-charm)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in February 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing superstitions with help from scholars Ülo Valk, Torunn Selberg, Alan Dundes, and others, discussing superstition in the context of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander series of books, and providing you with an exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-superstition)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in January 2020. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing rites of passage with help from scholars Arnold van Gennep, Alan Dundes, and others, discussing rites of passage in fiction, and providing you with storytelling insights related to the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-rite-passage)

Guest author Rebecca Buchanan continues the Summer Solstice 2022 discussion of Pagan futurism via her Pagan science fiction short story, "Hysthaany." Join us for this very special edition of the winter solstice dispatch and podcast. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/winter-solstice-dispatch-2022)

Join me for a discussion of legendary sea monsters in my poem entitled "Leviathans," which was published in Strange Horizons. (Companion Dispatch: csmaccath.com/blog/winter-solstice-newsletter-2019)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in November 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing ritual with help from scholars Catherine Bell, Ronald L. Grimes, and others, discussing ritual use in story craft, and providing you with an example and exercise on the topic. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-ritual)

A villain sends King Arthur on a quest to discover what women want, but only the ugliest woman in the world knows the answer, and she demands to wed Sir Gawain in exchange for it. Join me for a discussion of a fragmented Child ballad, and come away with a list of folkloric resources you can use in storytelling. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/gawain)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in October 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing the tall tale with help from scholars Richard Bauman, Carolyn S. Brown, Henry B. Wonham, and others, helping you analyze a tall tale, and discussing ways to bring tall tales to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-tall-tale)

Guest poet Math Jones reads from his recent poetic adaptation of Northern Germanic mythology and discusses his creative process, while I offer a few insights into his source material and an introduction to Old English poetics. Join us for this very special edition of the dispatch and podcast. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/gylfaginning)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in September 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing the fable genre with help from scholars Patrick Olivelle, Christos A. Zafiropoulos, Harriet Spiegel, and others, helping you analyze a fable, and discussing ways to bring fables to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-fable)

An honest old man and an evil old man dream of fortune in the coming year, but only one of them receives it. Join me for a discussion of structural symmetry in folktales, and come away with a few ways to subvert it for the sake of better storytelling. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/luck-heaven-earth)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in August 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing the märchen genre with help from scholars Christine A. Jones, Jennifer Schacker, Jack Zipes, and others, helping you analyze a märchen, and discussing ways to bring märchen to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-is-a-marchen)

God grants Adam a longer lifespan by giving him the years abandoned by suffering animals. Join me for a discussion of problematic themes in fables, and learn about the ways folkloristic and literary analysis can help you adapt and subvert these themes. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/spanmanslife)

"Matty Groves" recorded for the July 2022 Folklore & Fiction dispatch and podcast supplement.

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in July 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm discussing the ballad genre with help from scholars Gordon Hall Gerould, David Buchan, Roger deV. Renwick and others, helping you analyse a ballad, and discussing ways to bring ballads to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-is-a-ballad)

The last and greatest of the Fianna goes to the otherworld for a twelvemonth and returns an old man. Join me for a discussion of fairy time, and come away with suggestions for characterizing internal conflict in your storytelling. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/usheen)

A far-future psychopath is forced to take an empathy drug and spends the journey to his execution reflecting upon reparations he can never make to his victims. Join me for a discussion of forgiveness and atonement in my novelette titled "He Who Steals the Sun Shall Bear Its Gravity." (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/summer-solstice-dispatch-2022)

Join me for a discussion of Icelandic folklore in my short story entitled "B is for Burned/Every Broken Creature," which was published in the F is for Fairy anthology of short fiction. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/summer-solstice-newsletter-2019)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in May 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'm writing about the personal experience narrative genre with help from scholars William Labov and Joshua Waletzky, Sandra K.D. Stahl, Gillian Bennett, and others, helping you analyse a personal experience narrative, and discussing ways to bring personal experience narratives to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: csmaccath.com/blog/what-personal-experience-narrative)

"Tam Lane" recorded for the May 2022 Folklore & Fiction dispatch and podcast.

A nobleman's daughter makes love to a knight and risks everything to rescue him from the Queen of Fairies. Join me for a ballad about the heroine of Carterhaugh, her bravery, and her beloved, and come away with recommendations for creating your own fictional magic system. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/tam-lin)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in April 2019. I'm recording it as a supplemental podcast now so that new listeners and subscribers have an opportunity to engage with the material. In it, I'll be introducing the memorate genre with help from scholars Carl W. von Sydow, Lauri Honko, Diane Goldstein, and others, helping you analyse a memorate, and discussing ways to bring memorates to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-memorate)

Fe, fi, fo, fum! A clever young heroine outwits a giant to save the lives of her sisters and returns to his house on behalf of a king to steal a sword, a bag of gold, and a ring. Join me for a discussion of violence and sanitization in fairy tales, and come away with suggestions for writing multilingual characters. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/mollywhuppie)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in March 2019. In it, I'll be introducing the legend genre with help from scholars Linda Dégh and others, contributions from the Memorial University of Newfoundland Folklore Archive, and a wee chunk of fiction by Patrick Rothfuss. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-legend)

A young widow of invincible courage helps the ghost of a murdered man find peace. Join me for a tale about Margaret Barnekow - a larger-than-life Swedish matriarch - and come away with writing exercises geared toward teachers of middle school students. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/the-specter-in-fjelkinge)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in February 2019. In it, I'll be discussing the myth genre with help from scholars Alan Dundes, William Bascom, and others, helping you analyse a myth, and discussing ways to bring myth to your story craft. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/what-is-a-myth)

A king with an embarrassing secret forces his barber to keep it on penalty of the man's life, but the reeds and trees themselves sing out on the barber's behalf. Join me for a discussion of absolute power, and come away with a better understanding of theme in storytelling. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/the-king-with-the-horses-ears)

This episode of the Folklore & Fiction podcast was first published as a newsletter in January 2019. In it, I'll be introducing you to folklore genres with help from scholars Alan Dundes and others, discussing how the concept of genre can be both helpful and problematic, detailing a few ways to classify genres, and showing you how to use this information as a storyteller. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/introduction-folklore-genres)

"The Maid Freed From The Gallows" recorded for the January 2022 Folklore & Fiction dispatch and podcast.

A maiden takes a lover and nearly hangs for it until her beloved offers everything he has in exchange for her life. Join me for a discussion of transgressive sexuality in an old, well-loved English ballad, and come away with recommendations for adapting ballads yourself. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/maid-freed-gallows)

An ugly princess mocked by the kingdom makes a fraught deal with the merfolk for a belt and necklace that will turn her into a legendary beauty. Join me for an exploration of the little known tale of magic behind my forthcoming podcast radio play titled "The Belt and the Necklace." (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/winter-solstice-dispatch-2021)

A brother and sister transformed by a wicked stepmother. A knightly father who comes to their rescue. A brutal punishment by fire. Join me for a discussion of women and power in tales of magic, and come away with a hoard of folkloric storytelling prompts. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/atu-113b) Of note, friend of the show Peter Chiykowski is offering The Story Engine Deck, mentioned in this month's episode, to listeners at a 10% discount. Follow this link to learn more: https://storyenginedeck.myshopify.com/discount/FOLKLORE10

A devout king of cats returns from his pilgrimage to Mecca. A devout king of mice prepares to welcome him. Mousey subjects express misgivings about the whole reformed cat thing. Join me for a fable that tackles a difficult topic, and come away with a few tools for tackling difficult topics yourself. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/atu-113b)

A beautiful princess who will only wed a man who can tell her a story whose beginning is impossible and whose end is untrue. A storyteller who specializes in the absurd. Join me for a tale that might belong in many categories and a discussion of its many narrative treasures. (Companion Dispatch: https://csmaccath.com/blog/atu-2014)

Three mayoral candidates who decide to let a stranger govern the city of Cork and a brush-maker who doesn't recognize himself in the trappings of office. City fathers who believe it's possible to shift a church by pushing it. Where's the funny? Join me and find out. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/atu-1284-and-atu-1326)

Join me in a discussion of weak humans, strong monsters, and the power relationships between them. Come away with a better understanding of folk poetry and song. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/atu-1096-sewing-contest)

Join me in an exploration of folkloric elements in my forthcoming climate change fable, "Metal Crow and Ghost Crow." (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/summer-solstice-dispatch-2021)

Join me in a discussion of a Realistic Tale type for the unreal, and come away with an exercise designed to help you craft better lies in storytelling. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/atu-852-lying-contest)

Join me for the first in a new series of supplementary dispatches and podcasts addressing the intersections between climate change, ecology, folklore, and the sacred. (Companion Dispatch: http://csmaccath.com/blog/atu-780-singing-bone-supplement)

"Cruel Johnny" recorded for the March 2021 Folklore & Fiction dispatch and podcast.