Hearing the Mermaid's Song

Hearing the Mermaid's Song
Author: Lindsay Hale
Publisher: UNM Press
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2009-09-16
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0826347347

The Umbanda religion summons the spirits of old slaves and Brazilian Indians to speak through the mouths of mediums in trance. Its practitioners worship African gods, often calling them by the names of Catholic saints; simultaneously embrace the concepts of karma, reincarnation, and Christian charity; and believe in the capacities of both modern science and ancient magic. A relatively new religion dating to the beginning of the twentieth century, Umbanda has its origins in Rio de Janeiro and its surrounding urban areas where Afro-Brazilians, many ex-slaves or the descendants of slaves, practiced versions of the religion handed down to them by their ancestors. Umbanda's popularity has grown tremendously over the past century, attracting not only those who seek the assistance of spirits in solving problems in their lives, but those in pursuit of a path to a rich spiritual life and a fellowship of faith and service. Over the course of nearly a decade, Lindsay Hale spent countless hours attending rituals and festivals and interviewing participants of Umbanda, immersing himself in this fascinating religious world. In describing its many aspects and exploring its unique place within the lives of a wide variety of practitioners, Hale places Umbanda spiritual beliefs and practices within the broader context of Brazilian history and culture.

Mermaids

Mermaids
Author: Skye Alexander
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1507206666

Discover the myths, legends, and lore behind everyone’s favorite sea creature—mermaids. The allure and mystery of mermaids has taken hold of our psyche for ages. From the Irish merrows who come on land to search for human husbands to the fake Fiji Mermaid made popular by P.T Barnum, these sea maidens (and sometimes men) can be found in folklore and mythology from every tradition in the world. Inside this captivating collection, complete with beautiful illustrations throughout, you'll discover the myths surrounding these enigmatic beings, explore the common symbols associated with them, and learn tales of merfolk from around the world. Dive into Mermaids and get swept away!

Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing

Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing
Author: May Sarton
Publisher: Open Road Media
Total Pages: 143
Release: 2014-07-22
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1497646251

Sarton’s most important novel tells the story of a poet in her seventies, whose life is retold episodically during an interview with two writers from a literary magazine Hilary Stevens’s prolific career includes a provocative novel that shot her into the public consciousness years ago, and an oeuvre of poetry that more recently has consigned her to near-obscurity. Now in the twilight of her life, Hilary, who is both a feminist and a lesbian, is receiving renewed attention for an upcoming collection of poems, one that has brought two young reporters to her Cape Cod home. As Hilary prepares for the conversation, she recalls formative moments both large and small. She then embarks on the interview itself—a witty and intelligent discussion of her life, work, and romantic relationships with men and women. After the journalists have left, Hilary helps a visiting male friend with his anxiety over being gay and imparts wisdom about channeling his own creative passions. This ebook features an extended biography of May Sarton.

I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing

I Have Heard the Mermaids Singing
Author: Christopher Bollas
Publisher:
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2005
Genre: Black humor
ISBN:

This dark comic novella follows the life of "the psychoanalyst" in an urban village engaging a cast of characters with whom he shares his life and his ideas. A vulnerable yet thoughtful person shadowed by what he refers to as life after the Catastrophe, he finds himself celebrating "depression", discovering how it is an essential emotion housing insight into the self, society, and world affairs. Amusing, disturbing and thought provoking, the novella reveals in remarkable depth the many faces of depression. The psychoanalyst agonizes over the increasingly fascist dimensions of his profession and provides an excoriating critique of the psychotropic movement. He challenges the world of modern psychology that by stereotyping souls as sufferers of one or another of the newly coined diagnoses, such as Attention Deficit Disorder, ordains a world that reduces humanity. Where thoughtfulness once was, now one discovers a pill, a fashionable new illness, and a twelve-step program that define a life. The arrival of a terrorist in his consulting room seeking treatment in order to carry out a suicide bombing serves as a pivot for other crises that involve the analyst in an increasingly anarchic and surreal era, one that suggests a new world order. Readers will find in this work new perspectives that challenge many assumptions, ironically suggesting that in these difficult times understanding our complex mental lives - as in depression - holds invaluable keys to a better future for the individual and for modern society.

Reading Irish-American Fiction

Reading Irish-American Fiction
Author: M. Hallissy
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2006-03-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 1403983275

This book analyzes five novels, all published between 1989 and 1999, in which the main characters are 'hyphenated people': Americans who are ancestrally joined to, yet realistically separated from, the Irish. Hallissy explores why these characters think of themselves as Irish, though they have know little of Ireland or its people.

Making a Splash

Making a Splash
Author: Philip Hayward
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Total Pages: 218
Release: 2017-01-30
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0861969251

The representation of aquatic people in contemporary film and television—from their on-screen sexuality to the mockumentaries they’ve inspired. Mermaids have been a feature of western cinema since its inception and the number of films, television series, and videos representing them has expanded exponentially since the 1980s. Making a Splash analyses texts produced within a variety of audiovisual genres. Following an overview of mermaids in western culture that draws on a range of disciplines including media studies, psychoanalysis, and post-structuralism, individual chapters provide case studies of particular engagements with the folkloric figure. From Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Little Mermaid” to the creation of Ursula, Ariel’s tentacled antagonist in Disney’s 1989 film, to aspects of mermaid vocality, physicality, agency, and sexuality in films and even representations of mermen, this work provides a definitive overview of the significance of these ancient mythical figures in 110 years of western audio-visual media.

Merpeople

Merpeople
Author: Vaughn Scribner
Publisher: Reaktion Books
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2024-11-12
Genre: History
ISBN: 1789143136

A wide-ranging, beautifully illustrated history of mermaids and mermen from the classics to cosplay. People have been fascinated by merpeople and merfolk since ancient times. From the sirens of Homer’s Odyssey to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid and the film Splash, myths, stories, and legends of half-human, half-fish creatures abound. In modern times “mermaiding” has gained popularity among cosplayers throughout the world. In Merpeople: A Human History, Vaughn Scribner traces the long history of mermaids and mermen, taking in a wide variety of sources and using 117 striking images. From film to philosophy, church halls to coffee houses, ancient myth to modern science, Scribner shows that mermaids and tritons are—and always have been—everywhere.

Atlantis the End of a Continent

Atlantis the End of a Continent
Author: Roselis von Sass
Publisher: Ordem do Graal na Terra
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2008-12-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 8572790934

Atlantis, the land that once disappeared into the sea, rises and takes shape again. The people who dwelled there also become alive one more time. They were highly developed human beings, a chosen people, whose destiny is told in this account as accurately as possible. The description in these pages covers a period starting about fifty years before the country submerged beneath the sea. This book was written because of the persistent requests of spirits who want the truth about what happened in the past to be revealed. They request insistently in order to redeem their own threads of guilt, and to help others in the upcoming suffering of humanity. Here on Earth, we are surrounded by a great invisible world, where forces and spirits who influence us for good or for evil operate. Each one of us is linked to this invisible world through thoughts and intuitive feelings...

The Curious Cove

The Curious Cove
Author: Amy Marie Stadelmann
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 112
Release: 2024-06-25
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1534451676

Fact-loving Paige sets out to prove imaginative Penn wrong about mermaids in this third book in the mystery graphic novel chapter book series Paige Proves It! Paige loves facts! She is constantly spouting information about everything and anything to anyone who will listen. Hot dogs were first sold at baseball games in the 1800s! Termites are insects with strong jaws made for eating and burrowing into wood. And the boy named Penn who lives next door to her is her friend. On a visit to their local seaside park, Penn is convinced there has been a mermaid sighting, and Paige is determined—once again—to prove him wrong, one fact at a time.