Ceallaigh's Blog
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This blog entry is an effort to externalize my thinking on a possible relationship between the search for authenticity among contemporary Pagans and the problem of racism in contemporary Paganism. I include under the Pagan banner all people practicing a reconstructed or revitalized polytheistic animism, such as Wiccans, Druids, and Heathens. My own practice is a gnostic, hybridized Druidic Heathenry, and I'm a PhD candidate in the Folklore Department at Memorial University of Newfoundland, so my perspective and approach are rooted in these spiritual and intellectual traditions.
To begin, I want to problematize authenticity via the work of Regina Bendix, whose book In Search of Authenticity: The Formation of Folklore Studies has influenced my thinking. She writes that:
Hello, and welcome to the Folklore & Fiction newsletter. In this edition, 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.
Last night I was a guest on CKDU 88.1 community radio's The Witching Hour discussing folkloric aspects of the Satanic Panic, especially as they relate to legend studies. The show is archived in three segments: 7:00-7:30, 7:30-8:00, and 8:00-8:30. You should listen to the whole show, but my contribution begins just after 7:30.
For the fairy enthusiasts among you, here's a story bundle curated by Sandra Kasturi containing the new F is for Fairy anthology, which includes my short story "B is for Burned/Every Broken Creature." Other contributors include Jane Yolen, Gemma Files, Marie Bilodeau, Nancy Springer, and more! You can buy the bundle here.
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the Folklore & Fiction newsletter. In this edition, I'm writing about 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.
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the Folklore & Fiction newsletter. In this edition, I'm writing about 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.
Behold the F is for Fairy cover! This is the sixth instalment of the Alphabet Anthologies series, and it contains my short story dually titled "B is for Burned / Every Broken Creature." Here's the press release:
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the Folklore & Fiction newsletter. In this edition, I'll be writing about 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.
Introduction
Hello, and welcome to the Folklore & Fiction newsletter. In this edition, 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 writer.
Welcome to Folklore & Fiction, the Internet home of scholar and author Ceallaigh S. MacCath-Moran | C.S. MacCath. I'm a PhD student of Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland and the author of two collections of short fiction and poetry. Folklore & Fiction replaces the old C.S. MacCath website but contains all of the original content thanks to the phenomenal web development skills of my beloved husband and business partner, Sean, who built and themed what you see here.
Some things to know:
First and foremost, the Folklore & Fiction newsletter will launch tomorrow with "An Introduction to Folklore Genres." The focus of this newsletter is folkloric scholarship for writers, and it will be published on the first Folklore Thursday (#FolkloreThursday) of the month except in June and December, when I'll send subscribers an update on my publishing activities. These updates will go out on the summer and winter solstices.