Link of the day

[gwynhefar]

Taken from shadesong and appropriate to the season:

Pretty much everything you ever wanted to know about the Scottish ballad Tam Lin.

Pamela Dean's retelling of this ballad is one of, if not the, most influential books in my life -- it's the reason I chose the career path I have. So this ballad has a lot of special meaning for me.

Comments

[danorsong.livejournal.com]

It is such a fantastic book. I'd thought about a degree in English, until I remebered my spelling abilty.

[gwynraven.livejournal.com]

until you "remebered" your spelling ability? *g* What an ironic typo :) And you don't need to spell well to be an English major -- that's what spellcheck and dictionaries are for. You just have to love literature and love picking it apart. I knew I was meant to be an English major the first time I read that book and rather than being daunted or frustrated by all the references I didn't know, I was burning with the desire to go study them all. I still have the lists I made of all the authors and works that are referred to in that novel that I haven't read and I've been checking them off my list as I get to them. And whenever I feel discouraged and sick of my classes I take an evening and reread it, and it gets me all excited and motivated again.

So yeah, that book has had a profound influence on my life.

[silme.livejournal.com]

You know that about 13 years ago, I started a contemporary fantasy novel set in Boulder based on Tam Lin? I wrote about 80 pages of it. Some year, I'll return to it.

I love that ballad also. I first heard Sandy Denny singing it when I was about 12, and I was hooked. I have numerous recorded versions now...

[gwynraven.livejournal.com]

well, if you ever finish your novel I'd love to read it. What recorded versions do you have, and which do you recommend?

[silme.livejournal.com]

Um... Let me think. Fairport Convention. Vikki Clayton. Mike Waterson. Frankie Armstrong. Probably others I'm forgetting; in fact, I know others I'm forgetting. :)

I forgot to mention that we discovered a lovely specialist folk/country/blues/world music shop (that's really all they sold) just off the Royal Mile. We bought some music by Scottish artists that can be hard to find outside of Scotland and some other folkies.