A Green Man Review

The power of a name, that’s old magic.

The Doctor in The Shakespeare Code

So we’ve got on this warm summer’s day, a bevy on fictional books and films on witches and witchcraft. Some like The Witches of Eastwick film will likely be familiar to you as will Roald Dahl’s now problematic The Witches; Sarah Avery’s Tales of Rugosa Coven perhaps not so much.

‘Rebecca Reisert’s novel The Third Witch is a re-telling of the “Macbeth” story from the point of view of one of the witches.’ says Andrea in  her review. ‘Reisert brings the world of these impoverished women in 11th century Scotland to dirty, hungry life. As the story begins the three set out to glean — but from a battlefield rather than a wheat field — hoping to find useful or saleable items among the stiffening dead.’

Craig looks at a John Updike novel considered a part of the literary canon: ‘In the end, The Witches of Eastwick is a good novel. Oh It is not a great novel; it is not even a great witch novel. The research is at best minimal and often seems negligible. Nor does it compare favorably with the rest of the Updike canon, certainly not his tetralogy of everyman Harry “Rabbit” Angstrom, whose libido gets him in enough trouble to fill four novels and a novella. The book is not a waste of time, as long as the reader appreciates the above mentioned prose and description style.’

Jennifer read Sarah Avery’s Tales of Rugosa Coven and adored it. The Atlantic Ocean is almost a character in these stories. I could smell the salt breeze and feel the sand in my shoes. Plus, real witches on the Jersey Shore doing real witch stuff, like washing their sneakers, loving each other’s dysfunctions, and disagreeing about, well, everything magical!

Mia looks at the first of two films involving witchcraft: ‘Based on the Alice Hoffman novel of the same name, Practical Magic stars Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman as Sally and Gillian Owens, sisters who also happen to be witches. Sally is sweet, sensible, and longs for a normal life. Gillian is lusty and vivacious and uses her witchcraft mostly for the purpose of ensnaring a series of lovers. Sally and Gillian were orphaned and consequently raised by Frances and Jet, their wise, witty, and unconventional aunts.’

Not at all well received among Neo-Pagans is a film reviewed by Michelle: ‘There’s no denying the negative stereotyping in Nicolas Roeg’s The Witches, based on Roald Dahl’s novel of the same name. It’s a guilty pleasure, watching sophisticated women degraded by a little boy whom they’ve turned into a mouse. Adults will have an easier time than the intended young audience in recognizing the satiric elements of the film, but for some viewers that may not make it more tolerable; works of art like this one contribute to the demonization of Pagans and practitioners of folk medicine historically and in our own era.’

‘I’ve learned that the things you like about a record at first blush quite often change as you listen to it over a couple of decades,’ I note in my new review of a deluxe reissue of The Handsome Family’s 2003 album Singing Bones. ‘That favorite track might no longer top your list of songs from that record, and a song you glossed over has in the meantime revealed deeper layers of meaning for you.’ That’s definitely true of this album, as you’ll see in my review.

From the archives … well, let’s see if you pick up on a theme…

David has reviewed a lot of Americana for us, including the compilation Hoyt Axton’s Flashes of Fire: Hoyt’s Very Best 1962-1990. ‘ “Smoky,” one of only three non-Axton tracks included, is the theme song from a film in which Axton appeared. His version of the song was not included on the soundtrack. It’s a catchy tune, 12-string guitar and harmonica, and Axton’s smoky vocals.’

I really enjoyed Chris Eckman’s Harney County, an indie folk rock album of fictional stories set in a real place, one of Oregon’s high desert locales. ‘Eckman evokes sense-memories in songs like “The Conifer Smoke,” a tale of estranged siblings meeting in some sort of encampment, something to do with “lost causes.” ‘

‘Imagine someone so lost and lonely that her only good dreams are of sharing a bottle in an alley, but she clings to that memory to keep out much worse thoughts,’ I said in my review of Anna Tivel’s excellent Small Believer. ‘Tivel can do more to set a mood with just a few words than many can do in a whole raft of verses, like the opening lines of (“Alleyway”): “Smoke against the window pane / just the semis breathing on the interstate / and the gray upon the gray of October…” ‘

Way back in the day I reviewed a couple of albums from the Illinois Americana trio Dick Smith, including one entitled Smoke Damage. ‘The overall sound draws on Grisman and Garcia’s “dawg music,” with a little of the psychedelic weirdness and irreverence of the Holy Modal Rounders and the down-home corn of Goose Creek Symphony thrown in for good measure.’

I’ve reviewed a lot of albums by the late great Doc Watson, including Doc Watson at Gerdes Folk City, an important historical document from the folk revival. ‘Everybody has to start somewhere, and this brand new CD catches Doc in his first series of public appearances as a solo musician. It’s part of the First Time North Project, which is presenting archival recordings of the earliest urban performances of blues, bluegrass and folk musicians. It was recorded in late 1962 and early ’63 at the eponymous club in New York’s Greenwich Village.’

Christy Moore’s Smoke And Strong Whiskey was a departure of sorts for the Irish folk icon, Richard hsaid in his review. This one has lots of political and social commentary, he noted. ‘The choice of songs, too, is a long way from the traditional repertoire; indeed, there is not one “trad.” in sight, not even a “trad. arr.” Instead we have three of Moore’s own compositions, plus three co-written with other musicians, including Shane McGowan, one of whose own songs is also featured.’

So lets us finish off with some choice music from Nightnoise, to wit ‘Toys, Not Ties’ which was performed at Teatro Calderón de la Barca, which is a theater in Valladolid, Spain, some thirty years ago. For more on this superb sort of Celtic band, go read our career retrospective here. Nightnoise had its origins in members of the Bothy Band and Skara Brae, august bands indeed, and also included fiddler Johnny Cunningham for a while.

Every good fiddler has a distinctive sound. No matter how many play the same tune, each can’t help but play it differently. Some might use an up stroke where another would a down. One might bow a series of quick single notes where another would play them all with one long draw of the bow. Some might play a double stop where others would a single string. If the listener’s ear was good enough, she could tell the difference. But you had to know the tunes, and the players, for the differences were minute. — Fiaina in Charles de Lint’s Drink Down the Moon

Cat decided as you can see from the quote that we have lead off with  some of the works of Charles de Lint, a much beloved writer around here. He did a number of novels set in the real city of Ottawa where he and his wife, the late artist MaryAnn Harris, lived and had made their home for many decades, so those are the ones you will find here.

Gary reviews a set of Nordic fiddle or fiddle centered albums for us.  One is so true to live music that he says it’s ‘like sitting on the perimeter of an after hours fiddle jam at a Scandinavian folk festival’ and another was a work which ‘follows the reindeer’s annual cycle of birth, searching for food, near constant movement, and graze’. Fascinating reviews all.

We finish off with  some music that I think befits the summer season. It’s Michele Walther and Irina Behrendt playing Aaron Copland’s ‘Hoe Down’  from his Rodeo album.

His Yarrow: An Autumn Tale gets a loving look by Grey: ‘Cat Midhir has stopped dreaming. People assure her that it isn’t possible, that she just doesn’t remember her dreams, but Cat knows they’re wrong. Where her dreams have been, there is only heaviness and loss. For Cat, this loss means more than it would to most of us, because she is that rarest of all dreamers, a person who returns to the same dream every time she sleeps. In her dream world live her truest friends and her only source of inspiration for the books and stories that have won her acclaim in her waking life…’

Robert has two set there which are Autumnal: ‘Charles de Lint is known as “the godfather of urban fantasy,” and indeed, it’s in that genre that he’s made his mark – he’s never been a writer of heroic fantasy: in a better than thirty year career, very few buckles get swashed, although the two short novels included in Jack of Kinrowan — Jack the Giant Killer and Drink Down the Moon — come close, something of a romp a la Dumas pere — by way of Harold Lloyd, perhaps. Both concern the adventures of Jacky Rowan and Kate Hazel, best friends who find themselves enmeshed in the doings of the land of Faerie that coexists with modern-day Ottawa.’

He also looks at Moonheart, perhaps de Lint’s best loved novel: ‘Moonheart may very well be the first novel by Charles de Lint that I ever read. I can’t really say for sure — it’s been awhile. It certainly is one that I reread periodically, a fixture on my “reread often” list. It contains, in an early form, all the magic that keeps us coming back to de Lint. (And be reminded that Charles de Lint may very well be the creator of what we call “urban fantasy” — he was certainly one of the first to combine contemporary life and the stuff of myth.)’

Spritwalk  he says ‘is a loose sequel to Moonheart, a series of related tales, again centering around Tamson House and including many of the same characters. In fact, the House is even more important as a Place in this group of stories. It begins with a brief discussion of Tamson House from a book by Christy Riddell, whom we will meet again in The Onion Girl and, Widdrrshins followed by a delightful vignette, “Merlin Dreams in the Mondream Wood,” of Sarah Kendell, age seventeen, remembering her childhood “imaginary” playmate, a red-haired boy named Merlin who lived in the oak tree at the center of the garden. It’s a sweet, sad tale of the price of love.’

Next he reviews a most unusual album, subject wise, Mirra, from the progressive Norwegian Hardanger fiddler and composer Benedicte Maurseth, whose 2022 album Harr was one of my favorites of that year. ‘This is a deeply immersive work, its themes, motifs and sounds moving in patterns that repeat and modulate. The entire work follows the reindeer’s annual cycle of birth, searching for food, near constant movement, and grazing, and incorporates the grunting and pawing sounds they make as they feed and interact. The titles of the eight pieces that make up this suite reflect this cycle, such as: “Windy Days,” “The Calf Rises,” Hunting March,” “Fresh Snow Over Reindeer Moss,” “A Flock Of Birds Under The Moon.” ‘

The first time he saw or heard the Nordic Fiddlers Bloc was at a superb show called “Far Flung Fiddles” at the Judique Community Center in Judique, Nova Scotia, as part of the 2013 version of Celtic Colours. The show also featured local band Beòlach and American Irish fiddler Liz Carrol. I noted that the Bloc comprises Olav Luksegård Mjelva of Norway, Anders Hall of Sweden and Kevin Henderson of the Shetland Islands. ‘As is typical for an opening act here, they played four suites of tunes that included many jigs and reels but also some polskas and more.’

He wraps off his reviews with  Nils Økland Band’s Kjolvatn. Økland, who plays hardangar fiddle, violin and viola, leads this ensemble in droning, jazz-inflected music informed by Norwegian folk music. ‘Fans of Nordic fiddling should seek out this recording, especially those who are on the adventurous side when it comes to some subtle jazz elements in the music.’

So I’ve got some music for you that I think fits pretty much any season. It’s Michele Walther and Irina Behrendt playing Aaron Copland’s ‘Hoe Down’from Rodeo. I sourced it off a Smithsonian Institution music archive which has no details where or when it was recorded (which surprised me given how good they usually are at such things), but it may have been around twenty years ago according to other sources.

All writers write about themselves, just as the old storytellers chose to tell stories that spoke to and about themselves. They call it the world, but it is themselves they portray. The world of which they write is like a mirror that reflects the inside of their hearts, often more truly than they know. 
~ Jane Yolen, Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood, 1981

If a writer’s work is truly ‘like a mirror that reflects the inside of their hearts’ as Jane Yolen said in the work quoted above, then her heart was indeed a wondrous place. Yolen, who died June 11 at age 87, was one of our favorite and most reviewed writers here at Green Man Review, and we’re dedicating the book section of this edition to her.

As Gary K. Wolfe and Jonathan Strahan astutely observe in the most recent edition of their Coode Street Podcast, Yolen was so prolific over such a long time that she may not be ‘best known’ for any one work. Worth a listen if you enjoy this sort of thing, which is two veterans in the field of SFF reviewing and criticism, engaging in frequently rambling discussions on a variety of related topics.

That said, perhaps Yolen’s best known book is Briar Rose, which reimagines the fairy tale of Sleeping Beauty wrapped up in a YA story of a young person discovering the secrets of her grandmother, who was a Holocaust survivor. Eric did a fine job of reviewing it. ‘Briar Rose evokes all of the emotion that a true fairy tale should. The language is very moving, describing events in World War II in words that are both shocking and uplifting, while still preserving something of a fairy tale’s magic.’

Cat reviewed Yolen’s essay collection Touch Magic: Fantasy, Faerie and Folklore in the Literature of Childhood. ‘What this volume is about is acting as an advocate for the preservation and protecting of traditional folk and fairy tales.’ He was also very enthusiastic about a collection of Yolen’s stories: ‘Once Upon A Time (she said), shows her at her very best, with a fine collection of short stories, poems, and essays in a wonderfully designed book.’

Back in the day, Jo Morrison reviewed The Wild Hunt for Folk Tales, a long ago predecessor of Green Man Review. ‘Folk legend merges with Jane Yolen’s creative world to create a work of pure magic in The Wild Hunt, which should be destined to become a classic in the world of children’s literature.’

Liz had fun with Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary  Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters, that Yolen wrote with assistance from her daughter Heidi E.Y. Stemple, and illustrator Philippe Béha. ‘Fairy Tale Feasts presents 20 classic fairy tales from around the world masterfully told by ace word slinger Jane Yolen. … The book includes fairytales from European, African-American, Ashkenazi Jewish, Arabic, Turkish and Chinese cultures. Sidebars give quick facts regarding the stories and the foods mentioned in them.’

Marian McHugh reviewed Not One Damsel in Distress, a collection of tales with illustrations by Susan Guevara. ‘Yolen initially compiled Not One Damsel in Distress for her daughter and three granddaughters, as she wished to provide for her girls that which she had not been able to access — stories where girls are the heroes.’

Michael was utterly swept away by the beauty of Merlin and the Dragons, in which Yolen collaborated with the artist Li Ming. ‘… there are children’s books … and then there are books for all ages that just happen to be marketed for children. This is the latter. You can leave this on your coffeetable, or next to your child’s bed, and be equally proud either way.’

You want it darker? Try The Midnight Circus, says Warner. ‘This book is billed as a short story collection, yet in some ways this volume serves as two anthologies rather than one. After the bulk of the book, all of the short stories, comes a section in which Yolen examines the stories collected and, usually, includes an associated poem. Each is an enjoyable read in its own right, and many are published in this collection for the first time.’

And in a previous Yolen edition, Zina noted that Briar Rose continues to astound her as a reader. ‘That Briar Rose is about an evil that grew to be so large that it almost eclipsed the humanity of its participants, yet still manages to be a beautiful tale astounds me as a writer. As a human being and a reader, I was touched to the core over and over again.’

Gary here with new music. First up is some very nice jazz from ECM. ‘This inaugural self-titled record by saxophonist Joe Lovano’s Paramount Quartet would get a high rating just on the strength of its two covers, both of them warm slow ballads: Charlie Haden’s “First Song” which appropriately opens here, and Wayne Shorter’s “Lady Day.” Both give lots of room for guitarist Julian Lage and Lovano to showcase their tone, control, and easy way with melody and improv, and lift bassist Asante Santi Debriano and drummer Will Calhoun out of mere supporting rhythmic roles to the realm of full partners in song sculpture.’

Then there’s a new release of an old(ish) live recording, Kenny Barron’s So Many Lovely Things from the archival label Elemental Music. ‘You can drop the needle on any of the 10 tracks (and yes, it’s being released as a limited-edition 2-LP set as well as a 2-CD set, via digital download and streaming) and hear some of the best straight jazz ever laid down. These three veteran musicians knew each other like brothers and they knew every song in the book, but they never phone it in.’

With something quite different, Norwegian Hardanger fiddler Helga Myhr’s second solo release Slåttespel ‘puts the focus squarely on her fiddling and on traditional Norwegian dance music from her home region of Hallingdal. This is the music that got her named Norway’s finest Hardanger fiddle player at the 2025 National Championship for Norwegian Folk Music and Dance (Landskappleiken), an event that’s been going on since 1896.’

On the Americana front, Chicago queer country crooner Andrew Sa is releasing his debut album and it’s a winner. ‘Yes, the songs on American Rough subvert the entrenched hetero normative tropes of country music. But that seems like just a minor detail with songs this beautifully written and realized.’

New York’s Benny Bleu blends bluegrass, old time and jazz in his latest release When I Am A Fossil, a nod to his background as a geologist. ‘The fare here ranges from humanist earth-friendly songs informed by Bleu’s scientific background and his streak of pure humanism, to anti-capitalist ballads to instrumentals that draw equally on bluegrass, old-time and jazz …’

With high summer officially underway we’re thinking of one of our favorite pastimes, namely fishing. And the best song ever penned about fishing, one that’s been recorded by many, “Fishing Blues.” This one is possibly the original recording; it’s from the Anthology of American Folk Music, recorded by Henry Smith in 1928.

.