Tag Archives: folklore

Harry Potter at Home and at the British Library Online

Posted on April 9, 2020 by Brenton Dickieson

Last week I talked about some Audible learning resources –including “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone” by Stephen Fry in English, but also in many other languages–and how J.K. Rowling opened up copyright restrictions for teachers and parents to help … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, News & Links | Tagged art, books, British Library, fantasy, Fictional Universes, folklore, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, magic, manuscripts, Medieval Cosmology, writing | 11 Comments

A History of Magic with J. K. Rowling (A New BBC Documentary)

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Brenton Dickieson

Just in time for Hallowe’en, and in concert with the British Library’s “Harry Potter: A History of Magic” exhibit, BBC has produced an hour-long Potterlicious documentary. I saw this film on Twitter yesterday, and thought it was worth sharing–and not … Continue reading →

Posted in Feature Friday, Fictional Worlds, News & Links | Tagged books, British Library, fantasy, Fictional Universes, folklore, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, magic, writing | 8 Comments

On Leprechauns

Posted on March 17, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

I don’t know about you, but I always put leprechauns in a special category. I knew there was a tinge of danger there–an ambivalence that makes them untrustworthy woodfolk. I am, unfortunately, more affected by Lucky Charms commercials in childhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Reflections, Reviews | Tagged C.S. Lewis, Disney, faerie, fairy tales, folklore, George MacDonald, leprechauns, literature, Lucky Charms, Milton, myth, Oxford, Spenser, St. Patrick, The Discarded Image | 23 Comments

‘On the Supposed Unsuitability of Fairytales for Children” Guest Post by J. Aleksandr Wootton

Posted on March 15, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

J. Aleksandr Wootton chairs the fictional Folklore Studies department at Lightfoot College, where his research focuses on post-war Faerie. He has authored Her Unwelcome Inheritance, an account of fairy refugees on earth, and has recently published a poetry collection titled Forgetting: Impressions … Continue reading →

Posted in Fictional Worlds, Guest Blogs | Tagged Andrew Lang, faerie, fairy tales, fairytales, fantasy, folklore, g k chesterton, Hans Christian Anderson, Her Unwelcome Inheritance, J. Aleksandr Wootton, J.R.R. Tolkien, literature | 15 Comments

‘On the Supposed Unsuitability of Fairytales for Children” Guest Post by J. Aleksandr Wootton

Posted on February 17, 2014 by Brenton Dickieson

C.S. Lewis’s Faerie Lecture, and a Prince Edward Island Folktale

Posted on December 14, 2012 by Brenton Dickieson

C.S. Lewis gave a lecture on Faeries at the oldest and (arguably) most prestigious university in the English world. He did this lecture often, and he did it with a straight face. It is, of course, perfectly normal for universities … Continue reading →