Tag: Finnish
TOA/V: Bear Feast Polska
I love this version of the Bear Feast Polska by Rymäkkä. It captures the mythic heart of the song. ‘Karhunpeijaispolska’ is one of the first songs I learned to play on the kantele. I imagined cheery bears frolicking in the woods to the jaunty tune, which of course I figured out eventually had nothing to…
Magic Music
One of the important themes of Dream Book is the music of the kantele. Long time readers of this blog know well the Finnish lap harp. I have a couple of five string kanteles, a ten string made by Gerry Henkel that’s waiting for me in Dundee and a fifteen string one that I got…
Out Now: Dream Book
Out today from Fox Spirit Books is my Finnish-inspired collection DREAM BOOK. I’ve got a post up at the Fox Spirit site that offers a little introduction to the basics of Finnish folklore and mythology and I’ll be putting some multimedia stuff online in the coming days. Here’s a video I made of some photos…
New Orleans & PCA
It’s true that PCA seems to end up in New Orleans a lot. It’s also true that it comes at a kind of awkward point in the semester — just before Easter. We always have our break much earlier, though there is the extra Monday off because we’re no longer a Catholic institution even though…
New Story: Confabulation
My tonttu-inspired story “Confabulation” was featured in the last issue of New World Finn.
Tuesday’s Overlooked A/V: Härmä
Härmä In the plainlands of Ostrobothnia, Western Finland, a tradition prevails, according to which the first-born son inherits everything and the remaining offspring must fend for themselves. The law has been cast aside in many areas and groups of men, knife-wielding thugs, nicknamed ‘toughs’, control the fields. The blade rules the land. ONCE UPON A…
Happy St. Urho Day!
“Heinäsirkka, heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen!” As usual, we commemorate the saint (or his wife) who chased the grasshoppers out of the vineyards in Finland in the usual manner with fire-grilled grasshoppers! No, wait — that’s just a cool design made by S. L. Johnson who thought this holiday a little crazy but a good excuse…
K. A. Laity 