Folklore, Fable, Fairy Tale, Myth, Legend, Storytelling

Adoum, Jorge Enrique. "Los cuentos de hava y su transplante a America Latina [Fairy tales and their transplant to Latin America]." Casa de las Americas 30.175 (1989): 73-81. Adoum discusses the political nature of fairy tales, emphasizing that they lack any real connection to the Latin American reality, where "happily ever after" is an unlikely future for most of the population. Also comments on the displacement of stories from the oral tradition by fairy tales. J.K.K.

Allison, Alida. "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? The Golem as Family Member in Jewish Children's Literature." The Lion and the Unicorn 14.2 (Dec. 1990): 92-97. Looks at Beverly McDermott's picture book, The Golem: A Jewish Legend (1976), Elie Weisel's The Golem: The Story of a Legend (1982), and Isaac Bashevis Singer's The Golem (1983). Notes the radical difference between the Golem and other monsters, particularly Frankenstein's; "only the golem survives in affectionate memory." G.A.

Anderson, William. Green Man: The Archetype of Our Oneness with the Earth. Photography by Clive Hicks. London and San Francisco: Harper Collins, 1990. Pp. 176. $14.95 paper; $27.95 cloth. Review, John Matthews, Parabola 16.4 (Winter 1991): 110-14. Anderson traces the figure of the Green Man, a composite image which "symbolizes the union of humanity and the vegetable world" and his relationship to the Great Goddess from Ancient times to the modern "green" movements. Brings the archetypal figure back into focus at a time when it can give a form to the newly rediscovered unity between humanity and nature. G.A.

Barchers, Suzanne I. Wise Women: Folk and Fairy Tales from Around the World. Illus. by Leann Mullineaux. Englewood, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 1990. Review, Jacques Barchilon, Merveilles & Contes 4.2 (Dec. 1990): 343-44. A collection of 60 tales from about 20 regions, retold by Barchers, which present women in a positive way. Intended for the general reader or for the teacher to use at a secondary level. Very favorable review. G.A.

Blacker, Carmen. "The Folklore of the Stranger. A Consideration of a Disguised Wandering Saint." Folklore 101.2 (Fall 1990): 162-68. Discusses the figure who comes into "our" world from an alien space outside a certain invisible barrier (although it may only be the next village). Concentrates on Japanese folklore in the context of similar figures in European folklore found in well-known tales. G.A.

Bonnefoy, Yves, Comp. Trans, directed by Wendy Doniger. Mythologies. Chicago, IL: U of Chicago P, 1991. 2 vols, 1,300 pp. Illus., Bibl., Index. $250. 395 signed, original articles by 110 contributors about myths and related subjects in Africa, the Ancient Near East, Greece, Rome, South Asia, Iran, Southeast Asia, East Asia, Inner Asia, the Americas, the South Pacific, and among the Celts, Norse, Slavs, Caucasians, and Christians from the beginning of Christianity to the present day. G.A.

Boyes, Georgina. "Alice Bertha Gomme (1852-1938): A Reassessment of the Work of a Folklorist." Folklore 101.2 (Fall 1990): 198-208. Lady Gommes major study, The Traditional Games of England Scotland and Ireland (1894-98, 1964, 1984), provided the foundation for all later work on children's games. Sexism has prevented a fair assessment of Gomme's work, and her research and writing have been underrated. Traditional Games is the only work of the English folklorists of her time still used as a standard reference. G.A.

Brunner-Traut, Emma. "Der Magier Meriré und sein Golem" [Merire the Magician and his Golem]. Fabula 31.1/2: 11-16. Discusses a text from the Vandier Papyrus written in the 6th or 7th century B.C. The story comes from the later New Kingdom, about 1000 B.C. A translation of the text begins the article followed by a discussion of the Alcestis motif, the Golem motif, and the tale's relationship to Jewish folklore. G.A.

Carter, Angela, Ed. Old Wives' Fairy Tale Books. Illus. by Corinna Sargood. New York: Pantheon, 1990. Published in England as The Virago Book of Fairy Tales. Review, Jacques Barchilon, Merveilles & Contes 4.2 (Dec. 1990): 34748. Covers some of same ground as Barchers...