BOOK REVIEW: STAFF OF LAUREL, STAFF OF ASH

Contemplative Inquiry

“If our place is imperilled, so are our myths. If we heal the one, we heal the other … So said priestesses who long ago spoke in the voice of doves. So said the prophetic oaks they tended, who murmured to their suppliants through wind blown leaves.”(1)

Staff of Laurel, Staff of Ash: Sacred Landscapes in Ancient Nature Myth is an inspirational collection of interwoven contemplations on landscape and myth; on enchantment, disenchantment and re-enchantment. I strongly recommend it to anyone with an interest in these themes.

Author Dianna Rhyan says of her own approach to writing: “assembled, these pages refused to assemble, and so altogether, they form a series of sketches, fallen like samaras*, whose order is ultimately undetermined. The priestess of Apollo wrote her prophecies on leaves. When strong winds came, they scattered all over her cave. Did she mind? Amidst the leaves, voices of winds and voices…

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Whispers in the Wood

Indie Shaman

Whispers in the Wood is a lovely collection of illustrated ‘brief poems’, including Triolets, Tanka and Haiku, inspired by Martin Pallot’s walks in nature throughout the changing seasons.

The wonder of a ‘brief poem’ is how a good poet can capture a moment in time into such descriptive, evocative – and few – words. And Pallot is a very good poet.

Whispers in the Wood is not a bookcase book, it is a pocket book: a book to carry in your bag, to take into the woods or by the sea or wherever you may be going; a book to put in a work desk drawer to immerse yourself into when you are stuck indoors and badly need a break. This is a book to draw out whenever you need or want 5 minutes inspiration, peace and tranquil thought. And it would also be excellent for inspiring thoughts, jottings and…

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