Midori has been valiantly covering this blog solo while I've been down with a truly nasty flu -- and as I'm still shaking the last of a rattling cough out of my lungs, my posting may be a bit sporadic over the next week or so.
This post is to let y'all know that there is now an "Endicott Studio Channel" on YouTube, where we'll be putting videos that we think will be of interest to fans of mythic arts -- such as the Mythic Journeys documentary from the good folks at the Mythic Imaginations Institute, Ben Okri discussing his approach to writing, an A&E biography of J.K. Rowling, a little film on artist Paula Rego, the great June Tabor singing Child Ballad #191: "Hughie Graeme," and more. (f you come across other good videos on YouTube, send us a note and let us know.)
The video above is of Neil Gaiman reading his fairy tale poem "Instructions" at Cody's Books in Berkeley, California. Considering his voluminous output of work over the last several years, Ellen Datlow and I will forgive him for forgetting that he actually wrote the poem at our request for our children's fairy tale anthology A Wolf at the Door, where it was first published in 2000. It's my favorite of all his poems, and a real treat to hear him read it.
(While you're on YouTube, if you're a martial arts fan, check out this little video that Howard Gayton made of a tournament/demonstration of our Kung Fu teacher's school, The Dragon Temple, in our village hall in rural Devon.)
That's very cool. I'll check that out on my lunch break. Thanks!
Also, I just love Gaiman's Instructions.
Posted by: strugglingwriter | October 16, 2007 at 07:31 AM
What a wonderful poem! I teach art in the public school and during our reading time I had the class read Wolf at the Door. I loved reading "Instructions" with them. I had them copy their favorite parts of the poem then add thier own "instructions" they came up with some brilliant stuff :) They also did illustrations for several of the stories.
Cat
Posted by: Cat Mallard | October 16, 2007 at 07:12 PM