Greetings and welcome to the Folkbyte newsletter for March 2024. I have news on the writing front, an excerpt from my preliminary research for The Songwriter's Guide to Folklore, and the next monthly Folkbyte newsletter video to share. Onward!
Dispatches from the Word Mines
Dissertation
My dissertation is in the hands of my other two committee members, and I expect to hear from them at the end of March. Theirs will be the final edits I make before preparing my defense. The end remains nigh, nigher than it was before. =)
"Getting Started with Folklore & Folklore Studies: An Introductory Resource"
Academic colleague J Stanley Hopkins and I recently co-authored a guide to folklore for the layperson titled "Getting Started with Folklore & Folklore Studies: An Introductory Resource." We recommend it to anyone new to folklore studies as a means of familiarizing yourself with the ways folklorists understand and describe expressive culture. There are academic and research guides at the end of the article as well. You can read it here.
The Songwriter's Guide to Folklore
My second audio update for patrons in February was a discussion of antifascist black metal. You can listen to an excerpt of it here: Antifascist Black Metal: A Songwriter's Guide to Folklore Update.
Folkbytes for Storytellers
This month’s Folkbyte is about the ways places lose and gain meaning over time and the ways you can use this information in your storytelling and world-building.
That's all for now. Thanks so much for your interest! I'll be back in your inbox next month. Meanwhile, say hello to Maddy, the newest member of the family and a giantess in the making. (She's part Great Dane and part Saint Bernard.)
Footnotes
English Heritage. “Stanton Drew Circles and Cove.” Accessed March 4, 2024. https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/stanton-drew-circles-and-cove.
Folklore & Fiction Facebook Group
Are you a storyteller with an interest in folklore? If so, the Folklore & Fiction Facebook group might interest you.
Dr. Ceallaigh S. MacCath-Moran holds hold B.A. in Celtic Studies from the University of Toronto, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Maine, and a PhD in Folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is also an author, poet, and musician under the name C.S. MacCath. Her long-running Folklore & Fiction Project integrates these passions with a focus on folklore scholarship aimed at storytellers, and she brings a deep appreciation of animism, ecology, and folkloristics to her own storytelling. You can find her online at csmaccath.com, folkloreandfiction.com, and linktr.ee/csmaccath.
© 2025 Dr. Ceallaigh S. MacCath-Moran. All rights reserved unless Creative Commons licensing is specifically applied. To read the full "Copyright Statement and Usage Guide," visit https://csmaccath.com/copyright.