Martin Shaw Reads His Underworld Essay
As both a mythologist and wilderness rites-of-passage guide I am frequently asked to comment on climate change, collapsing stories, and what on earth to say to our kids about the future. I am no kind of pundit, so choose my words sparingly and carefully. What follows is a few thoughts. Climate change isn’t a case to be made, it’s a sound to be heard. From a mythic perspective, seeing is often a form of identifying, but hearing is the locating of a much more personal message. Hearing creates
Tristan & Isolde: Valentine’s Day launch
Hundreds of Dr Martin Shaw's latest book Tristan and Isolde were posted out on February 14th, all personally signed by the author. This first volume of a new major body of work that Shaw has been creating over the past few years, was officially launched from his writing den on the edge of Dartmoor on Valentine's Day. Based largely within the Celtic fringe of Britain, Tristan and Isolde is a dazzling exegesis of love, both disarmingly psychological and profoundly mythological. Shaw’s version heightens the latent Dionysian tensions and
Sunday Stories: New Substack Audio
A brand new fortnightly audio entitled 'Sunday Stories' is to start this week at The House of Beasts & Vines, Martin Shaw's subscription newsletter. On February 6, the series will kick off with an old, Irish story. Says Martin: "It's a story with a lot of spook and gnostic information." Over the coming months, these audio recordings, which will be available only to paid subscribers, will come direct from Martin's desk, down by the river, or out on the moor. Also available now are the first two sections
The Voyage of Brendan: Substack sets sail
The first section of The Voyage of Brendan is now published on Dr Martin Shaw's subscription newsletter - The House of Beasts & Vines. A free taster is available, but for the cost of a London pint (around £5), subscribers will get exclusive access to this first essay, along with everything in the vault as it builds up. Says Martin: "I’m delighted to start The House of Beasts & Vines with a story that is causing a stir in my dreaming. Bats are bopping in the belfry,
The House of Beasts & Vines – Substack launch
A brand new subscription newsletter has just been launched by Dr Martin Shaw - The House of Beasts & Vines. There will be regular free tasters, but for just $7 per month (around £5), subscribers will get exclusive access to new material and everything in the vault as it builds up. The newsletter will be published on the platform Substack, with fortnightly offerings from Martin, including fresh essays and audio recordings. It promises to be part care package, part spiritual provocation. Says Martin: "Imagine we’re sitting in my
A Glimpse of the Library: Martin Shaw’s 2021 Reads
Martin was recently asked to share a handful of the books he was reading in 2021. For any of us book lovers contemplating what to delve in to for the coming year, here's a glimpse of the reading pile... "The Norton Anthology crackles and bangs with word-magic, devastating on occasion. Submission by Houllebecq is a prophetic tale for middle-aged professorial types getting lost in the passions of the world. She Who Is lovingly and dynamically places Sophia back in her rightful place within Christianity. The Interior Castle is