Books-o-Folktales

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I'm looking for anything of any length that anthologizes any sort of neato folktale from anywhere around the world, both for entertainment and research purposes. However, I'd be especially receptive to regional variations of vampires and the like.

Also, the occult.

― c(''c) (Leee), Tuesday, 11 July 2006 21:05 (nineteen years ago)

Perhaps I'm being dense... but Barnes and Nobel's cheap classics series has a decent compendium of Grimm tales; Penguin has a brilliant (and attractive) Hans Christian Andersen, and if you look up E.T.A. Hoffman and Charles Perrault on ibiblio/wikipedia you can probably print yourself a few hundred pages of free book. Add to that the Burton translation of Arabian Nights, and Calvino's Italian folktales and you've got yourself a solid foot of shelf-space. Can't help you with non-European stuff, though.

And yes,

Also, the occult.

― Damn, Atreyu! (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 02:53 (nineteen years ago)

The wikipedia talk page for Hans Christian Andersen is fascinating in its preoccupation w. HCA's sexuality; worth a read. Also for the phrase "SPIRITUALLY ANDROGYNOUS" repeated like a bludgeon.

― Damn, Atreyu! (x Jeremy), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 03:02 (nineteen years ago)

HCA's sexuality is fascinating! I read his "Travels" recently, which are especially noted for his discussions of his ongoing pains in his penis.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 03:45 (nineteen years ago)

[RANT FOLLOWS]

Wait, no, that discussion was just upsetting. Fuck people who think: "Any child of 10 who showed any indications of any sexuality would get a serious reprimand, if not a slap across the room. At 10 you’re supposed to still be enjoying cartoons, playing sports, collecting trading cards, comic books and other innocent things like that. It’s ludicrous of you to suggest that we should encourage sexual expression in children that young."

"Encourage"? Is that how you think it works? You're "supposed" to still be enjoying cartoons, etc.? And you should be reprimanded for expressing any sexuality? Grrrrrrrrr....

[/RANT]

― Casuistry (Chris P), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 03:59 (nineteen years ago)

haha my favorite bit: "Why does anybody’s theory belong in a Wikipedia article?” A theory is a point of view. You’re not allowed to express you’re point of view in a Wikipedia article."

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 06:18 (nineteen years ago)

cheap classics series has a decent compendium of Grimm tales;

I have a pretty nice looking compendium of Grimm tales. Very nice. I still need to pick up the Andersen book. I love reading these stories.

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 08:14 (nineteen years ago)

Remy, you're not being dense at all, since I'm approaching folklore from ground zero. I actually had more Eastern European folktales in mind in addition to non-Euro tales, but I really should look up the Western "canon."

― c(''c) (Leee), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 16:30 (nineteen years ago)

the calvino italian folktales book is a treato. i just ordered haddaway's translation of arabian nights from amazon... remy did you read that one? i love arabian nights stuff so much.

― s1ocki (slutsky), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 19:45 (nineteen years ago)

anyone read any uncle remus? worth a read?

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Wednesday, 12 July 2006 23:45 (nineteen years ago)

The US Penguin Classics 'Remus' is a very good edition. Interesting stuff, but it pales compared to, say, the Calvino collection. Although I wouldn't have thought to compare them if it wasn't for the above discussion.

― James Morrison (JRSM), Thursday, 13 July 2006 05:34 (nineteen years ago)

Mark Twain was a huge admirer of Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories. He especially admired the accuracy with which he rendered them in authentic 'dialect'. Problem is, who wants to puzzle over all that dense, non-standard orthography just to discover the protagonist said something like, "Come over here and I'll show you something", but it was written as (my poor paraphrase), "Ky'om ovah heah, 'n I'll shew you sumpin."

― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 13 July 2006 14:41 (nineteen years ago)

Oo! Oo! [Raises hand.]

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 13 July 2006 15:43 (nineteen years ago)

I see Chris would like to share something with the class. Chris?

― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 13 July 2006 17:47 (nineteen years ago)

I hope it's cupcakes.

― Laurel (Laurel), Thursday, 13 July 2006 18:18 (nineteen years ago)

one month passes...

I've been reading an annotated Grimm's tales -- fabulous stuff, or should I say, FABULA?!?? LAUGHING OUT LOUD. (Answer: no.)

The fairytale stuff is great, but I still have a yen for more general folktales that aren't necessarily directed for kids -- maybe some Russian Baba Yaga stories, for instance. Basically, Hellboy sorts of tales, if that means anything to you.

― c('°c) (Leee), Friday, 18 August 2006 20:22 (nineteen years ago)

where are those motherfucking cupcakes

― Josh (Josh), Friday, 18 August 2006 20:52 (nineteen years ago)

what edition is that? i'd dig that

― tom west (thomp), Friday, 18 August 2006 22:42 (nineteen years ago)

carters two collections for virago are world class

― anthony easton (anthony), Saturday, 19 August 2006 01:30 (nineteen years ago)

tom: Annotated Brothers Grimm, ed. Maria Tatar, Norton 2004.

It's hardbound with lots of pictures, quite lovely indeed.

― c('°c) (Leee), Monday, 21 August 2006 15:39 (nineteen years ago)

two weeks pass...

I have a pretty nice looking compendium of Grimm tales. Very nice. I still need to pick up the Andersen book.

I have the Anderson one but not the Grimm one OMG!?!?!? does it have a plain auburn border around the cover illustration ?!~ no?!!!

Also, Andrew Lang's books are another big collection of tales.

― hijch (hijch), Thursday, 7 September 2006 01:43 (nineteen years ago)

Man! Some of these stories are BRUTAL. Maybe I've become a prude in my old age, but stories like "The Juniper Tree" (cannibalism, dismemberment) and "Furrypelts" (AKA "Catskins"; incest) have me blanching.

Last night however, I read "The Singing, Soaring Lark" -- fantastic, especially the second half, which is just EPIC.

― c('°c) (Leee), Thursday, 7 September 2006 15:38 (nineteen years ago)

Welcome to fairyland, c('°c)! The Grimm stories have been bowdlerized for the kiddies for a long time now. They have always been brutal.

― Aimless (Aimless), Thursday, 7 September 2006 15:50 (nineteen years ago)

Ahh that particular plot line is often known as "Donkeyskins", Kirby.

― Laurel (Laurel), Thursday, 7 September 2006 18:26 (nineteen years ago)

I can't stress enough how great Andrew Lang's stuff is. He interweaved Grimm & Co with folk tales from around the world, and man oh man is it so well written.

― Squirrel_Police (Squirrel_Police), Monday, 11 September 2006 00:47 (nineteen years ago)

on the subject of brutality etc., i now see why intellectuals are always alluding to 'clever hans' (ie it is fuckin AWESOME)

― Josh (Josh), Monday, 11 September 2006 03:58 (nineteen years ago)

I have a pretty nice looking compendium of Grimm tales. Very nice. I still need to pick up the Andersen book.
I have the Anderson one but not the Grimm one OMG!?!?!? does it have a plain auburn border around the cover illustration ?!~ no?!!!

Ah alas, this is the dutch version of the book so it's probably not the same (in re to lay-out). It has a blue cloth (?) around the cover. I was a cheapo dumbass and bought another Anderson compendium. Should've gone for the more luxurious one. I'm now stuck with an Anderson book that only has about FIVE or six measly stories. :-(

― Nathalie (stevie nixed), Monday, 11 September 2006 06:22 (nineteen years ago)

Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World put together by Kathleen Ragan is a good collection.

― spectra (spectra), Monday, 11 September 2006 11:20 (nineteen years ago)

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