National Book Award-winning poet and author of the internationally best-selling Iron John, Robert Bly revisits a selection of fairy tales and examines how these enduring narratives capture the essence of human nature.
Few forms of storytelling have greater power to captivate the human mind than fairy tales, but where do these tales originate from, and what do they mean? Celebrated poet and bestselling author Robert Bly has been asking these questions throughout his career. Here Bly looks at six tales that have stood the test of time and have captivated the poet for decades, from “The Six Swans” to “The Frog Prince.” Drawing on his own creative genius, and the work of a range of thinkers from Kierkegaard and Yeats to Freud and Jung, Bly turns these stories over in his mind to bring new meaning and illumination to these timeless tales.
Along with illustrations of each story, the book features some of Bly’s unpublished poetry, which peppers his lyric prose and offers a look inside the mind of an American master of letters in the twilight of his singular career.
Robert Bly takes us on a journey through six fairy tales. Shining a light on the tales themselves and why they are still popular and relevant. Each tale is taken apart, studied and viewed through the eyes of not only Bly but several great thinkers.
These fairy tales are timeless. And magic and Bly always give us something to delve deeper into and discover a new meaning to them.
As always, it is my pleasure to read Mr. Bly.
Netgalley/ March 27th 2018 by Henry Holt and Co.
Pirate Patty Reviews 
This sounds really cool. I’m still in love with fairy tales, even as an adult. People always peg them as “children’s stories,” because that’s when we are first introduced to them, but I find relevancy in them even as an adult. There are so many things we are exposed to as children that we don’t fully comprehend because of our lack of maturity. As an adult, I find that I am appreciating “childish” things more and more.
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I’m a big lover of fairy tales too. Adults are coloring. I can read a few fairy tales! lol
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Interesting book. I have always loved fairy tales from when I was a child, reading it for my children and now for our grandchild.
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Another great mind on the meaning and power of fairy tales is Clarissa Pinkola Estes. Women Who Run with the Wolves is brilliant.
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Thank you. I just scribbled that on a post-it to take to the book store!
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I love the sound of this book. Fairy tales have always been close to my heart. I absolutely adore the magic of them. I would love to read this.
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What a fantastic idea! I love Fairy Tales, and to really delve into those that have withstood the test of time would definitely be very interesting! He sounds like an amazing writer as well!
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He really is!
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Reblogged this on VIRTUAL BORSCHT.
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