Author: Word Witch

On the occasions I leave the flat, I walk with a mask leftover from the fires last fall. The air and the wind then had a material quality. The heat and the debris were tangible in the city insulated and isolated from the threat of fire. Across the Bay in Berkeley, the threat of fire… Continue reading Reflections from an Altar-ed State →

This afternoon I went to the lobby of my building to wait for a bouquet of flowers from a friend. She would leave the buds gingerly laying on the ground outside the building and I would walk out to swoop them up before either of us could transfer one minuscule germ for another. As I… Continue reading Reflections on the Loss of the Man in 205: Narratives and Neighborliness →

Letters of authenticity in the world of antiquated goods purport the notion that an object or set of objects is original and traditional. These letters are meant to ensure the buyer, the seller, and the observer, or the robber, of its first-of-its-kind-last-of-its-kind nature. My mom is an antique dealer, and while I remember few occasions… Continue reading Reflections on Stone-Cold Women →

As I read for this week, I couldn’t help but picture the “Feast of Fools” as it appears in the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The premise is that Quasimodo, a young man misshapen and naïve, an outsider, leaves his invisibility behind for a day and experiences the “Feast of Fools” in… Continue reading Reflections on a Hidden Man and Talking Gargoyles: Inversion in the Feast of Fools and the Church →

Angela Bourke’s work in Irish folklore primarily explores the use of fairy phenomena and women’s roles within the Irish public and private landscape. Her book, The Burning of Bridget Cleary, is, at the moment, one of my prime texts for the work I’m pursuing. However, throughout this book and within her individual essays and articles,… Continue reading Reflections on Feminism in Folklore and Fairy Tale →

Throughout our readings this week, I felt drawn to view the Dorothy Noyes article “Group” from a material culture perspective. Many groups develop around the pursuit of making things whether they are craft groups, like the “Stitch ‘n’ Bitch” sessions Black Squirrel in Berkeley, or weaving (loom-based) classes offered for free at City College in… Continue reading Reflections on the Fiber Community as Group →

Over this week’s reading I focused on Bauman and Lord’s essays and synthesized these materials by keeping in mind the Irish caoineadh, or keening. The caoineadh is a lament form produced by a soloist who employs a chorus. It is part of a death procession within a community and performed by women, usually a matriarchal… Continue reading Reflections on Refrains in the Caoineadh →

As I read this week, I continued to think of Ireland in conversation with our texts. I had never had the opportunity to read Mary Douglas’ monograph, Purity and Danger, in the past. In the chapter “Power and Danger” I noted a number of similarities between Douglas’ discussion of witch and sorcerer-like figures to be… Continue reading Reflections on the Death of a Woman Newly Modern →

In Dorothy Noyes’ article, “Tradition: Three Traditions,” I was struck as I read by the duality of the word above and the connotations it carries. Tradition is a two-sided coin that indicates “separation as well as continuity” and this cleaving of folklore, be that material culture or oral tradition, I found to be crucial to… Continue reading Reflections in Theory of Tradition →

I've struggled over the last four or five years with the sense of home. When I ruminate on it too long, I realize that I've spent my life so far considering place and homes and whether or not I belong to one in particular. I've learned to accept the possession of multiple home spaces. During… Continue reading Homes →