Joey Madia, New Mystics Reviews

(Thomas-Jacob Publishing, 2015), ISBN: 978-0989572989 Frequent readers of my book reviews and creative writing are well aware of my belief that mythology, folktales, and multicultural tales, and storytelling in general, are an all-too-often missing and yet vitally important element of a healthy mind and well-functioning society (I am in the process of writing a new book about it), so when I got the opportunity to read and review this book, I jumped at the chance.             I was not disappointed.             Smoky Zeidel is not a Native American, as she tells us in the book’s Afterword. And yet she captures the syntax, symbolism, and simple beauty of the Native American expression of human experience with an artistry that makes for almost hypnotic reading.             The Storyteller’s Bracelet is the story of ...

edited by Ellen Dooling Draper and Jenny Koralek (Published for the Paul Brunton Philosophic Society by Larson Publications, 1999, www.larsonpublications.com) Everyone knows Disney’s Mary Poppins, but what of Mary’s creator, P. L. Travers? Due to the at-times questionable magic of Walt Disney and company, authors are often separated from their works. Ask most people who authored The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Tarzan and you might just get a blank-faced stare. In the case of P. L. Travers, this wonderful collection of twenty essays (three by Travers herself) not only reconnects the author with her most famous work, but illuminates the vibrant thoughts, expressive writing, and lifetime of exploration into myths, fairy tales, and folklore that were the true passions of this gifted writer. A Lively Oracle is divided into six parts (Biographical Notes; Mary Poppins; The Other Books; Themes; Conversations, Lectures, Interviews; and Three Articles by P.L. Travers) book-ended by an Introductio...

In the vast, multi-layered landscape of My Space, it’s easy to get lost. Overwhelmed. As I navigate endless pages of avatars looking for Kindred Spirits, Wise Ones, Ether Inspirations, and new readers, I sometimes wonder just why in the hell I’m wasting my time. As I plunge deeper and deeper into the ice-cold cybersea or walk further and further into the tangled forest of ads, angst, and often false appearances, I search my mental pockets for the crumbling crumbs of bread that may lead me back from the witch’s house that I know I’ll one day find. The best I can do while I’m out there is find some worthy artists to read and review. I “met” poet and essayist Douglas McDaniel through an e-mail he sent me about a Blog I had written concerning the Illuminati. After surfing his My Space I ordered his book 23 Roads to Mythville, a collection of autobiographical and other essays dealing with the nexus of Spirit and Technology in this new age. The language and rhythm come at you at an accelerat...