tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post9213025731688662185..comments2024-03-27T06:42:26.250-07:00Comments on Seven Miles of Steel Thistles: Fairytale Reflections (15) Gillian PhilipKatherine Langrishhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-86728357642328932932011-01-19T09:20:38.443-08:002011-01-19T09:20:38.443-08:00Never apologise for writing furiously, Jo - well d...Never apologise for writing furiously, Jo - well done, in fact. That's what I ought to be doing... But yes - Gillian's post is brilliant! I can't wait to see what happens in her next book.Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-10303544748605369722011-01-18T11:59:46.338-08:002011-01-18T11:59:46.338-08:00Egads! I've been missing in action for a few w...Egads! I've been missing in action for a few weeks (writing feverishly in fact) and I can't believe I missed Gillian and Tam Lin! Two of my absolute favorites. A part of me always liked the tale's gentler approach ie.- someone escaping from the fairies plus the scene where Janet has to hold on through all the transformations- genius! but the other part of me likes the ruthless heartless devious fairytales as well. That sense of being lost to the human world and trapped for all eternity somewhere completely strange and foreign. Ohh shivers!Jo Treggiarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02417288480274268189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-29209738840668557502011-01-16T09:11:17.406-08:002011-01-16T09:11:17.406-08:00A lovely nickname! Thanks, and I'm happy to w...A lovely nickname! Thanks, and I'm happy to welcome you to the blog!Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-91081034561873149492011-01-15T14:32:39.400-08:002011-01-15T14:32:39.400-08:00I first heard of Tam Lin from my mother. She nick...I first heard of Tam Lin from my mother. She nicknamed my son Tamlin Hamlin (his name being Tom Hamilton :-)) I happened upon your blog whilst searching for Robert Burns' song 'Tam Lin', which is absolutely wonderful. I very much enjoyed reading your analysis of this wonderful story, thank you.annieoatcakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17450257633493033309noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-48213913819859814322011-01-11T07:41:37.449-08:002011-01-11T07:41:37.449-08:00Thank you all for the comments - I'm glad you ...Thank you all for the comments - I'm glad you enjoyed the poem - and yes, do read 'Firebrand' - it's amazing!Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-67223701919651023282011-01-10T14:02:22.340-08:002011-01-10T14:02:22.340-08:00Excellent, fascinating post and what a wonderful p...Excellent, fascinating post and what a wonderful poem!Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-3728431504513059452011-01-09T11:21:24.121-08:002011-01-09T11:21:24.121-08:00This post was wonderful from beginning to end. I&...This post was wonderful from beginning to end. I'm very much interested in reading Firebrand now.<br /><br />And that poem was exactly what I could see happening in the future. You don't thwart the Fairy Queen and get away with it. :)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-3500286138761623912011-01-09T09:20:35.657-08:002011-01-09T09:20:35.657-08:00I was also going to recommend The Imagined Village...I was also going to recommend The Imagined Village's "Tam Lyn Retold". There's a video of it from 2008's Cambridge Folk Festival at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYvgoBRbJO0 <br /><br />I always like Tam Lin, but found the happy ending a bit tenuous, so I really enjoyed your poem - much more likely!Beth Kemphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04182084510733977382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-60444250321644000972011-01-08T19:03:35.748-08:002011-01-08T19:03:35.748-08:00That Seth MacGregor gets everywhere... I have just...That Seth MacGregor gets everywhere... I have just been reading about him in Mslexia, of all places! (Chatting up the lady writers, no doubt).<br /><br />I love Steeleye Span's version of Tam Lin, which nearly always sends a shiver down my spine.Katherine Robertshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-59692904733520527152011-01-07T18:00:23.143-08:002011-01-07T18:00:23.143-08:00Not only do I enjoy the fairytale reflections them...Not only do I enjoy the fairytale reflections themselves, but these posts are also adding steadily to my tbr pile! Thanks!Charlottehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11835101886202235868noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-66959500027073170762011-01-07T15:16:33.913-08:002011-01-07T15:16:33.913-08:00I just knew Seth would pop his head up here before...I just knew Seth would pop his head up here before I did!<br />Thankyou. Tam Lin is a marvellous story. I found it in a book of Celtic Fairy Tales as a child and was thoroughly scared by it!catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-48979199592742637892011-01-07T10:38:09.346-08:002011-01-07T10:38:09.346-08:00Have you heard Tam Lyn Retold by The Imagined Vill...Have you heard Tam Lyn Retold by The Imagined Village ? From the website:<br />A ballad whose roots stretch into the fifteenth century is retold against a backdrop of hissing electro-reggae. The story of 'Tam Lyn' is likewise hauled into the modern age by dub poet Benjamin Zephaniah, its tale of a teenage girl seduced by a demon lover transposed to urban clubland. 'Instead of her lover coming from faerie land, I have him coming from a foreign country as an asylum seeker,' says Benjamin. 'Both ways he's an alien.' <br /><br />It's eerily good - and a very different take. Thanks for this article - a great read as ever!K.M.Lockwoodhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07540392557430776265noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-39486850831110508302011-01-07T08:27:21.271-08:002011-01-07T08:27:21.271-08:00Thank you for that wonderful poem, Kath. My 'B...Thank you for that wonderful poem, Kath. My 'Boss' may believe in and wish for a happy ending, but what you describe in Janet's later life is exactly the sort of thing Kate NicNiven would get up to. She wouldn't take Janet's defiance lying down, that's for sure...Seth Macgregornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-35706204747930198052011-01-07T07:54:40.734-08:002011-01-07T07:54:40.734-08:00A perfect read on a wild wet January day - both Gi...A perfect read on a wild wet January day - both Gillian's reflections and your poem, Kath!<br /><br />I have always loved Fire and Hemlock best of Diana WJ's books, perhaps because of Tam Lin.Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-17596804706840875532011-01-07T05:04:19.487-08:002011-01-07T05:04:19.487-08:00Terri, thanks for the many titles you mention - I ...Terri, thanks for the many titles you mention - I know several but not all of them, and the Dahlov Ipcar one in particular, I should like to track down. Thanks also for reminding me of the author of the picture book, the wonderful Jane Yolen - I have added her to the credits. (We have the book in the house somewhere, but I couldn't find it.)<br /><br />I'm now wondering what happens every Halloween in that housing estate...Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4950999049789394042.post-1105020814454278492011-01-07T04:22:18.690-08:002011-01-07T04:22:18.690-08:00A wonderful essay, and a wonderful poem. Thank you...A wonderful essay, and a wonderful poem. Thank you and Gillian both.<br /><br />Tam Lin has inspired some terrific fiction over the years -- Perilous Gard by Elizabeth Marie Pope, The Queen of Spells by Dahlov Ipcar, Fire and Hemlock by Diana Wynne Jones, Red Shift by Alan Garner, Tam Lin by Susan Cooper, Tam Lin by Pamela Dean, Winter Rose by Patricia Mckillip, Soul-String by Midori Snyder, An Earthly Knight by Janet McNaughton, and so many others, each one giving the old tale a new twist.<br /><br />Probably most of your readers here are familiar with the books above, but a Tam Lin tale they might have missed is Delia Sherman's story "Cotillion," which brings the old tale to modern day New York. It's a real favorite of mine. Also the sassy poem "Tam Lin's Lady" by Scottish poet Liz Locchead. And Jane Yolen's picture book version, which the Mikolaycak illustrations are from.<br /><br />Years ago, Jane and I went on a car trip to track down the site that was reputed to be Carterhaugh, in the Scottish border country. Alas, there's a housing estate there now....Terri Windlinghttp://www.terriwindling.comnoreply@blogger.com