Tales Songs For Dark Times Tales Songs For Dark Times

The Baker's Daughter

A tale of warning & a reminder to show kindness to strangers at the door…

 

Every tale has a thousand versions; this is just one. To celebrate World Storytelling Day, here is an old tale which reminds us to be generous in the harshness of Winter and to always show kindness when a stranger knocks at the door.

MUSIC


Aside from Grennan’s Bastu, all music you heard in the episode was sourced courtesy of the Free Music Archive.

Songs you heard in this episode:

  • Farewell by Serge Quadrado,

  • Freezing by Crowander

  • In The Sun by Crowander

  • Dan33 by Anonymous

  • Our theme song is Grennan’s Bastu by Varelse.

 
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Conversation Songs For Dark Times Conversation Songs For Dark Times

Word Weaver, Nettle Eater

 
 
 

About


Tom Hirons is perhaps most famous for his amazing poem, Sometimes A Wild God, which you can hear pieces of in the episode. He is a fantastic poet, writer & storyteller. In addition to that, Tom is also an acupuncturist, leather worker, former mask maker (though he comically forgets that in the interview), wilderness fasting guide and father of two little boys. When I conducted the interview in March of 2021, Tom was living & performing with the equally brilliant Rima Staines (visual artist extraordinaire, blogger, accordion player, unusual clock-maker, puppeteer & many, many other magical things). Together, they created Hedgespoken, a traveling, off-grid storytelling theatre, run from the back of a 1966 Bedford RL lorry, converted into a home + mobile stage. To listen to some of the amazing stories they produced this year, check out the Hedgespoken Picturehouse.

At this time, Tom continues to publish his fantastic work through Hedgespoken Press & his own website, as well as regularly hosting the Feral Angels Poetry Café session, a regular series of poetry & writing workshops, which I myself occasionally attend. (They are fantastic & I have consequently been writing more in the last month than I think I have in the last decade). He is also available for private coaching sessions, as a mentor, guide and editor. This May, he will be leading the Mead of Poetry Wilderness Vigil, a 4-day fasting retreat in the Dartmoor wilderness, and in August, he will be hosting the Feral Angels Poetry Camp, a week-long camping & poetry session in Ceredigion, West Wales.

MUSIC


  • Our theme song is Grannen’s Bastu, arranged and performed by Varelse.

  • Arabic Prayer by Serge Quadrado (used courtesy of the Free Music Archive).

 
 
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Seasonal Musings Songs For Dark Times Seasonal Musings Songs For Dark Times

Endings, Beginnings & Two-Faced Gods (January)

January Musings in 2022.

 

This is an episode of musings from January 2021 + January 2022, discussing the cyclical nature of the world & life, Janus (the Roman God said to preside over doorways & transitional times), and the ability of the human species to rewrite narratives, on a personal, mundane, mythic or global scale…

MUSIC


The tracks you heard featured in today’s episode are…

 
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Conversation Songs For Dark Times Conversation Songs For Dark Times

Strawberries In Winter

 

Today we are joined by Claire Obermarck for a Winter Solstice tale about kindness, greed and evil stepmothers. We also have a cracking good interview & catch-up session, discussing what it means to be a storyteller, staying true to your story (and your heart), and where the line falls when updating outdated elements. We hope you enjoy!

In the episode, Claire mentions the South Mountain Community College's Storytelling Program, so I wanted to drop a link here. She currently runs Ceilidh Corner in Sedona, Arizona and—though I forgot to ask if she is still involved—when I met her, she was chair of the Guid Craic Club in Edinburgh, at the Scottish Storytelling Center. You can follow her on social media, here.

MUSIC


In today’s episode you heard:

If you enjoy the music in these episodes, please consider supporting the musicians by exploring, sharing, or purchasing their work. Also, please consider liking, rating, and sharing this podcast with other’s you feel might enjoy it as well. This is the only way to ensure it reaches a larger audience and can continue to exist. Your kindness is greatly appreciated.

 
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Tales Songs For Dark Times Tales Songs For Dark Times

The Halcyon Days

Not all true-love stories have happy endings, but in this tale of love, loss, and transformation we will learn why the waters that surround Greece remain still during the Winter Solstice...and be reminded that even the darkest winter still holds the promise of light.

Welcome to the premier episode of The Loom. Not all true-love stories have happy endings, but in this tale of transformation, we will learn why the waters that surround Greece remain still during the Winter Solstice, and be reminded that even the darkest of winters may yet hold the promise of new light...

 
 

THE HALCYON DAYS


There are many versions of every tale; mine is simply one of them. It is heavily influenced by my favorite version of Ceyx & Alcyone from the play, Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman & the Looking Glass Theatre Co. In the weaving of this version, I researched multiple translations and was pleased to find that many of the favorite lines I incorporate were not stolen from Zimmerman, but in fact came from the original Ovidian text. Additionally, I have purposefully left out or lightly adapted a few elements in this telling in order to focus in on what I find to be the most compelling parts of the story (and keep it shorter and closer to how I perform it live). I also added or shifted a few minor details because they seemed to me to be more authentic or meaningful to the telling. These deviances, however, as well as some history, lore, and context will be covered in a following episode. I have also specifically chosen to pronounce the names of our characters in a way that felt more natural for me to say them and closer to the ways I have heard them pronounced (especially as I don’t speak Greek, let alone ancient Greek). I still wonder, however, if this was the best choice and deeply hope that I have not offended any Greek speakers in my audience.

May love, light & laughter be with you always…

MUSIC


All music in the podcast is used by express permission from these generous musicians. If you enjoyed the music in this episode, please consider supporting these generous musicians (as they have already supported this podcast) by exploring, sharing or purchasing their work…

In today’s episode you heard:

 
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Songs For Dark Times Songs For Dark Times

Welcome to The Loom

Welcome to The Loom, a podcast focusing on Folktales, Myths, Legends and Lore from around the world...with a few monthly musings & guest interviews thrown in for good measure. To support the growth of this podcast (and be privy to unreleased materials, Q&A’s, video interviews & episodes before they are released to the public, head on over to Patreon).

 
 

Welcome to The Loom, a podcast of folktales, myths, legends and lore from around the world, as well as special episodes with guest authors and storytellers...and the odd seasonal musings, thrown in for good measure. To support the growth of this podcast (and be privy to unreleased materials, Q&A’s, video interviews & episodes before they are available to the public, head to Patreon).

This podcasts seeks to remember the intrinsic, inseparable bloodline we share with this vibrant, animate earth and all her creatures, as well as our own capacity for creation and transformation—mythic and mundane. In light of that, it is created for all the seekers, searchers, dreamers, thinkers, tinkerers, wanderers, wonderers; the worried and the weary; the hopeful and the brave; the weird, Wyrd & word-weavers. But most importantly, this podcast is for YOU. For it is a truth, widely known though seldom honored, that everyone has a story to tell—each with ten thousand, thousand variations—and each of our stories snake and weave together, intertwining, to create the whole expanse of human existence…so won’t you stay & listen awhile?

 
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