Publications

Words of Re-enchantment: Storytelling, Myth, and Ecological Desire The time-honoured art of storytelling – ancestor of all narrative media – is finding new pathways of relevance in education, consciousness-raising, and the journey of transformation. Storytellers are reinterpreting ancient myths and communicating the new stories we need in our challenging times. This book brings together the best of Anthony Nanson’s incisive writings about the ways that story can re-enchant our lives and the world we live in. Grounded in his practice as a storyteller, the essays range from the myths of Arthur, Arcadia, and the voyage west, to true tales of the past, science-fiction visions of the future, and the big questions of politics and spirituality such stories raise. The book contains full texts of exemplar stories and will stimulate the thinking of anyone interested in storytelling or in the use of myth in fiction and film. "This excellent book is written with a storyteller's cadence and understanding of language. Passionate, fascinating and wise." - Hamish Fyfe "His words are threaded through with a passionate faith that well-chosen, well-told stories ... can lift us from the mundane and help us see and feel what is truly valuable in life." - Eric Maddern "packed full of inspiration" - Ron Donaldson Storytelling/Mythology/Environment ISBN 978-1-906900-15-1 £9.99 Awen Publications. Order from Awen Publications
Exotic Excursions In these stories Anthony Nanson charts the territory between travel writing and magic realism to confront the exotic and the enigmatic. Here are epiphanies of solitude, twilight and initiation. A lover’s true self unveiled by a mountain mist … a memory of the lost land in the western sea … a traveller’s surrender to the allure of ancient gods … a quest for primeval beings on the edge of extinction. In transcending the line between the written and the spoken word, between the familiar and the unfamiliar, between the actual and the imagined, these tales send sparks across the gap of desire. “He is a masterful storyteller, and his prose is delightful to read … His sheer technical ability makes my bones rattle with joy … He is simply one of the most able writers I know” – Mimi Thebo “This is quite simply superb. His love of language and artistry with words is interwoven with plots which immediately engage the reader.” – Vivien Meath, Clitheroe Advertiser & Times "a vital collection, varied, but with a consistency of recurring concerns" - Jeremy Hooker Fiction/Travel ISBN 987-0-9546137-8-5 £7.99 Awen Publications Order from Awen Publications
Storytelling and Ecology: Reconnecting Nature and People through Oral Narrative A penetrating study of the relationship between contemporary storytelling in the oral tradition and the ecological crisis now facing us. After explaining modern society’s disconnection from the natural world on which it depends, Anthony Nanson surveys the ways in which storytelling can help to renew connections between people and nature, through: contradicting the consensus of the powerful; providing an educational tool for wildlife interpreters; making connections between self and other; mediating the stories of the non-human; enchanting the landscape; and contributing to transformative ritual. In conclusion he assesses the qualities that influence storytelling's effectiveness in this ambition. “If you are looking for deep thinking about deep ecology and how people are using storytelling to connect people with the natural world, then Storytelling and Ecology is the book for you.” – Kevin Strauss, H-Nilas Storytelling/Environment ISBN 1-84054-125-3 £6.00 Papyrus Series Society for Storytelling/University of Glamorgan Press Order from Awen Publications
An Ecobardic Manifesto: A Vision for the Arts in an Time of Environmental Crisis (with Fire Springs) What is the raison d’être of the arts in an age of global ecological crisis? In this audacious document, Fire Springs present a new vision for the arts, one that holds together commitment to artistic integrity and craftsmanship with responsiveness to the peculiar challenges of our time. Foremost among those challenges are the strained relationship between human beings and the ecosystem we inhabit and the vital need to sustain empathy for that which is other than ourselves. Fundamental to the arts’ task in such an age is a willingness to embrace contradiction, not least the deepening polarisation between scientific and economic materialism and metaphysical sources of meaning and hope. This pamphlet is a clarion call to everyone working in the arts today who wants their efforts to make a difference. "makes its case very well indeed" - Lindsay Clarke “a deep and inspiring document” - Molly Scott Cato, Transition Stroud Art Theory/Literary Criticism ISBN 978-1-906900-07-6 £2.50 Awen Publications Order from Awen Publications
Other publications: Gloucestershire Folk Tales, History Press, Stroud, forthcoming in 2012 ‘Afterword’, in Mary Palmer, Iona, 2nd edn, Awen, Stroud, 2011 ‘Stephen Lawhead’s Pendragon Cycle’, Vector, No. 266, 2011 ‘Utopia without Fascism’, Vector, No. 266, 2011 Review of Galileo’s Dream by Kim Stanley Robinson, Vector, No. 266, 2011 Review of Shine edited by Jetse de Vries, Vector, No. 265, 2011 ‘Age of Enchantment’, Resurgence, No. 258, 2010 ‘The Benefits of Amateur Storytelling’, Storylines, No. 50, 2010 ‘An Ecobardic Afterword’, in Jay Ramsay (ed.), Soul of the Earth: The Awen Anthology of Eco-spiritual Poetry, Awen, Stroud, 2010. ‘Mapping the Ecobardic Territory’, Storylines, No. 51, 2010 ‘The Storytelling Imagination as Catalyst of Tolerance and Imagination’ and ‘The Tale of Eithne’ (story), in Tasoula Tsilimeni (ed.), Μορφές Αφήγησης: Πρακτικά 4^ουΦεστιβάλ Αφήγησης Ολύμπου, University of Thessaly, Volos, 2010 Review of Bone Dance by Emma Bull, Vector, No. 262, 2010 Review of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin, No. 264, 2010 ‘What Do You Mean, “Ecobardic”?’, paper presented at Ecobardic Mini-Fest, Cae Mabon, Llanberis, 30 April to 3 May 2009 ‘Wonder Voyages: What Might They Mean?’, paper presented at Exotic Excursions, Othona Community, Burton Bradstock, 24–27 September 2009 Review of The Accidental Sorcerer by K. E. Mills (with Kirsty Hartsiotis), Vector, No. 260, 2009 Review of Experiments at 3 Billion a.m. by Alexander Zelenyj, Vector, No. 261, 2009 Review of Fast Forward 2 edited by Lou Anders, Vector, No. 259, 2009 ‘The Big Picture and the Bigger Picture’, paper presented at Tales to Sustain, Cae Mabon, Llanberis, 9–12 October 2008 ‘The Myth of King Arthur: A Creative Tradition’, paper presented at King Arthur at Candlemass, Othona Community, Burton Bradstock, 1–4 February 2008 ‘Two Sides to a Story: Storytelling as a Tool of the Imagination in Conflicts over Environmental Resources’, paper presented at workshop, Rising Sun Country Park, Newcastle, 8 March 2008 Review of The Last Colony by John Scalzi, Vector, No. 258, 2008 Review of Lost Islands by Kevan Manwaring, Storylines, No. 45, 2008 Review of Sixty Days and Counting by Kim Stanley Robinson, Vector, No. 257, 2008 ‘How Can Live Storytelling Re-enchant the Natural World in an Electronic Age?’, in Tasoula Tsilimeni and Nikolaos Graikos (eds), Αφήγηση και περιβαλλοντικη εκπαιδευση: Κείμενα από την ομότιτλη διημερίδα που πραγματοποιήθηκε στο Κ.Π.Ε. Ανατολικού Ολύμπου στις 12 & 13 Μαίου 2007, Environmental Education Centre of Eastern Olympus, Palios Panteleimonas, 2007 ‘Stories from the Big Picture of Ecological History’, paper presented at Tales to Sustain, Bishops Wood Centre, Stourport-on-Severn, 21–22 April 2007 ‘Telling Other Peoples’ Stories’, Storylines, No. 40, 2007 ‘What Does “Accreditation” Mean?’, Storylines, No. 38, 2007 Review of The Bardic Handbook by Kevan Manwaring, Storylines, No. 37, 2007 Review of On Common Ground by Hugh Lupton and Chris Smith, Storylines, No. 39, 2007 ‘Mythscapes of Arcadia’, Storylines, No. 32, 2005 ‘Tales to Sustain’, Storylines, No. 33, 2005 Review of Forty Signs of Rain by Kim Stanley Robinson, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2005 ‘Science Fiction Ethics of Terraforming Mars’, paper presented at Cross-Fertilisations: Literature, Science and Nature, ASLE-UK conference, University College, Chichester, 16–18 July 2004 Review of King Arthur directed by Antoine Fuqua, Matrix, No. 169, 2004 ‘The Basket of Dreams’ and ‘The Two Champions’ (stories), in Margaret Silf (ed.), One Hundred Wisdom Stories from Around the World, Lion, Oxford, 2003 ‘The Cobra Hissed’ (story), in Kevan Manwaring (ed.), Writing the Land: An Anthology of Natural Words, Awen, Bath, 2003 ‘Mount Olympus, the Long Way’, The Greek-o-File, Vol. 2, 2003 ‘Rite of Passage’ (story), iQ, No. 2, 2003 Review of Mark by The Telling Place, Storylines, No. 25, 2003 ‘Bogoria’, Interdisciplinary Studies in Literature and the Environment, Vol. 9, No. 2, 2002 Review of The Golem by Shonaleigh, Storylines, No. 20, 2002 ‘Breathing Life into Old Stories’, Telling Place Update, No. 3, 2001 ‘From the Border to the Edge’, Telling Place Update, No. 3, 2001 ‘The Meeting of Sacred and Secular’, Biblical Storyteller, Vol. 19, No. 2, 2001 ‘The Second Night of Sly Fox’, Storylines, No. 14, 2001 ‘Storytelling: Raiders of the Lost Art’, in Fiona Bond, The Arts in Your Church, Piquant, Carlisle, 2001 ‘The Telling Place at Greenbelt’, Facts & Fiction, No. 37, 2001 Review of The Garden of Prometheus by Chris Smith, Facts & Fiction, No. 39, 2001 Review of The Iliad by Hugh Lupton & Daniel Morden, Facts & Fiction, No. 38, 2001 Review of Someone to Watch over Me by Paul Wilson, www.fish.co.uk, 2001 Review of Stories, Stories Everywhere by Sandra Pollerman, Artyfact, No. 24, 2001 Review of Telling Merlin by Eric Maddern et al., Storylines, No. 16, 2001 ‘A Drink Before Bedtime’ (story), in A Nava, C Walsh & R Bentham (eds), We Write in Water, M Thebo, London, 2000 ‘A Free Vision and the Shadow of Fast Capitalism’, Articulate, No. 3, 2000 ‘For Love of Tam Lin’ (story), Facts & Fiction, No. 32, 2000 ‘Stories that I Like’ (interview with Dave Robertson), Artyfact, No. 20, 2000 ‘The Waves Never Ceasing’ (story), Facts & Fiction, No. 35, 2000 Review of The C. S. Lewis Encyclopedia by Colin Duriez, Artyfact, No. 20, 2000 Review of Deep Stuff by Mike Riddell, Artyfact, No. 19, 2000 ‘The Last Coelacanth’ (story), Artyfact, No. 15, 1999 Review of Awakening by Gregory R Huth, Artyfact, No. 15, 1999 ‘The Ark-T Centre’, Artyfact, No. 7, 1998 ‘An Interview with Roger Wagner’, Articulate, No. 1, 1998 ‘The Ministry of Rock-n-Roll’ (interview with Simon Law), Artyfact, No. 11, 1998 ‘Mythic Power in Popular Entertainment’, Articulate, No. 1, 1998 ‘The Uninvited’ (interview with Norman Stone), Artyfact, No. 6. 1998 Review of Diana: Icon and Sacrifice by Ted Harrison, Artyfact, No. 11, 1998 ‘Direct Contact’, Artyfact, No. 2, 1997 ‘Information Overload’, Oxford Independent, February 1997 ‘Touching Bedrock’ (story), Artyfact, No. 3, 1997 ‘Time Off-Line’ (story), Rhubarb Rhubarb, No. 19, 1996 ‘Of Words and Wine’, Rhubarb Rhubarb, No. 10, 1995 Review of Glastonbury by Donna Fletcher Crow, Rhubarb Rhubarb, No. 8, 1995 Review of Living between Worlds by Philip Sheldrake, Rhubarb Rhubarb, No. 13, 1995 Review of ‘Out of the Whirlwind’, exhibition by Roger Wagner, Rhubarb Rhubarb, No. 13, 1995 ‘Samhain Fires’, Prediction, November 1993 ‘Whose New Age?’, Third Way, April 1993 ‘The Things We Love’ (story), Xenos, No. 15, 1992 Review of The Tolkien and Middle-Earth Handbook by Colin Duriez, The Cut, Summer 1992 ‘Goals for Role-Playing’, White Dwarf, No. 52, 1984