Sunday, February 20, 2011

A Bit Of My Obsession

To say that I'm obsessed with all things Irish would be more than correct.


I've wanted to visit there since I was old enough to know where and what Ireland is. I love Faeries and Folklore, and Ireland is well known for their Folktales and Myths/Legends that of course involve Faeries.


When I was younger I'd even go so far as to go out looking for Faeries, though I never did seem to find any I still believed they were out there somewhere. I've been hooked on stories and books about Faeries ever since I read Peter Pan (one of my all time favorite books, by the way) after that I started reading any book about Faeries I could get my hands on. Anyone who knows me well can tell you that books involving Faeries are most likely going to be the first type I gravitate to :)


I have tons of books on Ireland, Irish Folklore, and books of poems by Irish poets. One of my favorite poets just happens to be an Irish one, William Butler Yeats :)


Yesterday I got this book:






This is a reprint of the original book that was first published in 1892, it's a collection of Irish Folklore in the form of short stories and poems. The works are divided into categories: 


"The Trooping Fairies"
"Changelings"
"The Merrow"
"The Solitary Fairies" 
"The Pooka"
"The Banshee" 
"Ghosts"
"Witches, Fairy Doctors" 
"Tir-na-n-og"
"Saints, Priests" 
"The Devil"
"Giants"
"Kings, Queens, Princesses, Earls, Robbers"


Yeats introduces each section with background info on the creature the stories in that specific category will focus on. There are also footnotes from Yeats that make this a great resource for people who want to learn more about Irish Folklore.


Of course I was extremely excited to have gotten this book, 508 pages of lovely Irish Fairy and Folktales to devour at my leisure. Absolute bliss :)

And since I'm on the subject I'll leave you with a quote to ponder by my fore mentioned favorite poet:

"But I, being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; Tread softly because you tread on my dreams." ~William Butler Yeats

2 comments:

  1. Heya :)
    Sounds like a book I could certainly use on my shelf. I have a lot of Irish books, too, but I don't have that one! haha.. :)
    Faeries rock, too. :P
    I love that quote at the end of your post- it's beautiful.

    <3
    ~The Bookaholic

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hey :)

    Yes I believe that book would be a great addition to your collection :)
    And I agree Faeries are just amazing :)

    That is one of my favorite quotes by him, and just one of my favorite quotes period :)

    Thankies for stopping by :D

    <3
    ~Taylor

    ReplyDelete

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