I got a coin in your palm,
I can make it disappear.
I got a card up my sleeve,
Name it, and I’ll pull it out your ear.
I got a rabbit in the hat,
If you wanna come and see.
This is what will be.
This is what will be.
I got shackles on my wrists,
Soon I’ll slip and I’ll be gone.
Chain me in a box in the river,
And I rise up in the sun.
Trust none of what you hear,
And less of what you see.
This is what will be.
This is what will be.
(Photo: Public Domain)
I’ll cut you in half, I got a shiny saw blade, All I need’s a volunteer,
I’ll cut you in half,
While you’re smiling ear to ear.
And the freedom that you sought,
Drifting like a ghost amongst the trees.
This is what will be.
This is what will be.
Now there’s a fire down below,
But it’s coming up here.
So leave everything you know,
Carry only what you fear.
On the road the sun is sinking low,
Bodies hanging in the trees.
This is what will be.
This is what will be.
Kit’s Crit: HEIR TO A PROPHECY (Mercedes Rochelle)
Any one fascinated by Shakespeare’s Macbeth will love the question behind Mercedes Rochelle’s debut book: How do the sons of Banquo come to rule Scotland? The three weird sisters tell Macbeth’s companion that “Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” – a promise that sets in motion the deadly events of the famous play.
Heir To A Prophecy (Hampshire: Top Hat Books, 2014) follows a fragmented trail through Scottish history – tracing the line from Banquo’s son Fleance to King James Ist of England – with a similar mix of fact, fiction, and supernatural interference as found in the original tale. We know that Banquo is murdered on Macbeth’s orders, but that his son Fleance escapes. In Rochelle’s version he goes into exile in Wales at the court of Gruffydd ap Llewelyn, where he woos and impregnates the king’s daughter, Nesta.
Nesta bears an illegitimate son called Walter, who enlists in Harold Goodwineson’s service and ends up fighting at Dunsinane and Hastings. Along the way he befriends Prince Malcolm, King Duncan’s heir to the Scottish throne. Years later, Walter settles in Malcolm’s court and is rewarded for his services, becoming the first Steward of Scotland. This legitimizes his position, and prepares the way for future descendants of the royal house of Stuart.
Rochelle’s portrayal of the three witches is particularly interesting. They appear at various points in her story to advance their original prophecy, but rather than being the weird old hags of Shakespeare’s era they are associated with the Norns of Scandinavian mythology – fates who control mankind’s destiny. But aside from this nod to the bard, Rochell wisely does not attempt to imitate one of the great literary masterpieces with a sophisticated, high-brow response. Instead she writes a plain, rollicking tale that should have broad appeal for those readers who like a fast-paced romp through history.
This novel is nicely edited and presented. The setting, however, is too broad a time-period to examine and explore the various situations in any great depth. Heir[s] To A Prophecy could well have been a whole series, with each book focusing on one central character – Fleance, Walter, and so on!
Traditional Mince Pies used to contain meat, alongside the familiar fruit mixture found today.
Here is my Lancashire adaptation of Jeri Westerson’s recipe for the adventurous to try!
Ingredients:
1lb lean minced beef, boiled thoroughly until reduced to small strands
4 green apples, cored, peeled and cubed into bite-size pieces
1/4lb suet, processed into fine granules
12oz raisins
12oz currants
2 lemons, with rind grated, squeezed, and chopped into small pieces
4oz brown sugar
4 tablespoons black treacle
8oz cooking sherry
8oz cider
8oz brandy
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons mace
2 tablespoons allspice
2 tablespoons nutmeg
2 tablespoons ground cloves
4 tablespoons cinnamon
1lb pastry dough
flour to roll out pastry
1 tablespoon milk to glaze
nub of butter to grease pie dish
Method:
Heat the oven 375/ 190 /Gas 5.
Grease a large, deep pie dish.
Place the cooked beef in large bowl. Add the apples, suet, raisins, currants, lemons, sugar, black treacle, cider, salt, pepper, mace, allspice, nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon. Mix well.
Allow the meat to cool. Stir in the sherry and brandy.
Roll out half of the pastry on a floured surface and line the base of the pie dish. Pour in the meat mixture and press flat.
Roll out the lid and seal the edges. Cut steam holes in the top of the pie crust. Glaze with milk.
Bake for 30 – 45 minutes until crisp and golden brown.
Cool on a rack. Pies can be served hot or cold.
My version varies slightly from Jeri’s. Check out the original below:
A séance is an attempt to contact the dead either by conjuring up manifestations of spirits, from messages relayed through a Medium, or via a Ouija Board.
In ancient times only prophets, seers, and Cunning Folk were called on to access with the world beyond death, but after Baron Lyttelton published a book called Communication With the Other Side (1760) ordinary people were drawn to the idea of “penetrating the veil” for themselves. The popularity of séances soon developed into a new religion called Spiritualism.
The early Spiritualists used a talking board at their camps in Ohio (1886), a device that became known as a Ouija Board. This tablet gave everyone equal access to the world beyond. The name Ouija was said to stem from the Egyptian word for good luck, though others have argued it is a combination of the French and German words for yes. The first commercial board was created in 1894 by Elijah Bond.
The flat board is marked with the letters of the alphabet, numbers 0-9, “Yes,” “No,” and “Good bye.” A moveable marker or planchette – usually made of plastic or wood – spells out words when the participants place their fingers on it. It is a form of automatic writing.
Over the years this form of communication has been criticized by the Church as a dangerous tool of Satan. Other users argue it is simply a harmless parlor game. And some modern day psychologists claim that the Ouija Board offers a fascinating insight into the minds of the players because they are unconsciously moving the marker according to their own secret thoughts, fears, and desires.
Spiritualism is the belief that the souls of the dead pass over onto the first Astral Plane, and from there they can communicate via a Medium to warn, guide, and enlighten the living with the observations they have made from beyond the veil. The Medium communicates between the two worlds through séances. God is the Infinite Intelligence, and when spirits pass over they grow and perfect by moving through a series of hierarchical spheres.
The first Spiritualists were radical Quakers who combined supernatural practices within their own religion. This belief system was hugely popular with middle and upper class Americans and Europeans between 1840 – 1920. During the American Civil War period a lot of grieving parents tried supernatural sources in a desperate attempt to communicate with their lost sons, including President Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary. Another historical surge happened during The Great War too, for similar reasons. Unfortunately, trances, séances, and automatic writing developed into profitable showmanship for paying audiences and therefore became susceptible to widespread fraud. The Seybert Commission discredited many famous practitioners.
Both Arthur Conan Doyle and Charles Dickens were members of the Ghost Club established in London, 1862. These men undertook the scientific study of paranormal activities in order to prove or disprove their existence. During the 1920s Harry Houdini campaigned to expose fraudulent Mediums. And in 1921 Thomas Lynn Bradford committed suicide hoping to prove the existence of the afterlife, but no communication was ever heard from him again.
Although Spiritualism as a religion has been widely discredited there has been a continuing interest in Spiritual Healing. This is a holistic practice where the Medium aids a sick person by transmitting curative energy that works with the mind, spirit, emotion, and body of the recipient. Does it work?
What do you believe?
(Photo: Public Domain)
Sources:
Britannica.com. “Spiritualism,” at http://www.britannica.com/topic/spiritualism-religion
The Divine Comedy is an epic poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308-1320 AD. As one of the most influential books ever composed, this religious allegory about the importance of salvation marks the start of Italian literature.
The story begins at Easter in the year 1300. There are three parts (cantiche) – aligning with the Trinity’s Father Son, and Holy Ghost. They are entitled Hell (Inferno), Purgatory (Purgatorio) and Heaven (Paradiso). Each section has 33 Songs (cantos), except for the first part which has 34. These add up to a total of 100 Songs to represent Dante’s “perfect” number 10 (10 x 10 = 100).
Written in the first person, Dante imagines his soul’s spiritual quest as it ventures from darkness into light.
(Salvador Dali)
“Midway on our life’s journey, I found myself
In dark woods, the right road lost . . .”
The narrator wakes up one day to find himself in the dark forest of sin. The spirit of Virgil appears and promises to lead him on the path of salvation through Hell, Purgatory, and into Heaven. Virgil eventually hands him over to Beatrice (the ideal woman).
Dante’s world is full of monsters and demons. Each soul is punished according to its former deeds, which range from small self-indulgent transgressions such as a lack of willpower. to violent and malicious crimes. Hell is portrayed as an underground funnel made up of circles. At the bottom sits Satan who perpetually gnaws on history’s three worst traitors: Judas, Brutus, and Cassius. The punishments inflicted on the travelers are vivid and relentless – the stuff of eternal nightmares. Yet those sinners who have confessed to their crimes before death are eventually permitted to leave Hell and head through Purgatory in search of Heaven.
Purgatory is a mountain made up of 7 rings, with the Garden of Eden at the top. Once cleansed of their sins, the wandering souls rise up toward Heaven where God appears as a vision of light.
Dante’s morality poem is a tale of justice and retribution. The wrong-doers are punished for their past crimes with the worst torments imaginable. They have to suffer alone and abandoned, devoid of help or hope.
So why is this classic called The Divine Comedy when it is a full-blown scary vision of Hell? Because Dante’s epic has a happy ending and therefore is not considered a tragedy in the standard literary tradition.
Robert Pinsky was the U.S. Poet Laureate from 1997-2000, and therefore my expectations for his translation of Dante Alighieri’s masterpiece The Inferno were very high. I was not disappointed.
Pinsky recreates the medieval world view of religion and society -the original political subtext – the stunning imagery – and the 3-line interlocking stanzas of the terza rima rhyming scheme to great effect
Staying close to Dante’s intent, Pinsky underscores the symbiotic relationship between poetry and love. He draws parallels between the narrator’s journey from Hell to Heaven with that of Ulysses’ adventures in Homer’s Odyssey, maintaining the power of the original poetry and making it accessible to the modern reader. The Italian text is printed alongside the revised translation.
Dante’s work has influenced a wide range of intellectuals from Galileo through to the Modernists of the early 20th Century, particularly T.S. Eliot, Ezra Pound, and James Joyce. Many artists have chosen to illustrate The Inferno in their own style. This edition contains 35 interesting monotypes by Michael Mazur, although I personally favor the earlier illustrations of Salvador Dali.
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