Myth in the Mojave

“Mythology is not a lie, mythology is poetry, it is metaphorical. It has well been said that mythology is the penultimate truth— penultimate because the ultimate cannot be put into words. It is beyond words.” Joseph Campbell

Mythology and poetry are both attempts to express experiences that can’t be conveyed in any other way. They have the power to to stir our imagination and even open a door to the transcendent.

In episode #21, I talked with Joshua Tree-based poet and songwriter Phillip Rosenberg about how to read a poem. In this episode we round out that conversation by considering the similarities and differences between these two forms, and some reasons why early myths were so often created as poems.

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Medusa is a big topic and a figure that is as hard to pin down as her wriggling hair. In this program we take a longer look at some of Medusa’s mythological compatriots (the Hindu goddess Kali, the Sumerian demon Humbaba) and think about our ongoing fascination with this dangerous feminine power.

We are fascinated and we are afraid— with good reason. Facing this awful, awesome presence is the challenge.

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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Medusa is a fascinating and powerful figure from ancient Greek mythology. Her snakey hair and petrifying gaze have inspired countless images and stories over the centuries but we have yet to pierce her mystery. 

Who was Medusa, and who is she today? Where is Medusa in our 21st century collective psyche?

In this program I tell Medusa’s story from the perspective of the ancient Greeks. You may be surprised by some of the details.

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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We know that love transforms us. But is it always through a kiss? That’s the popular version of this story but it’s not the original. 

This week’s program is a fairy tale called “The Frog Prince,” a story that is frequently doctored to match our love illusions. Here is my musical version of the original, taken from the Brothers Grimm, the result of collaboration with songwriter Phillip Rosenberg. This is a story that Joseph Campbell often told and his work spurred my interest in it

 “It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation.” 

—Ranier Marie Rilke from Letters to a Young Poet

 MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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“. . . a metaphor is a myth in brief.” Giambattista Vico

Many of the ancient myth are poems, Homer’s Odyssey and the Norse Poetic Edda, for example, and the Sumerian myths of Inanna, Dumuzi, and Gilgamesh. These old stories were also songs or hymns. Today we typically tell stories in prose but the link between mythology and poetry is still vital and relevant. That link is metaphor.

Metaphors reach beyond what is known, into the mystery. We can learn to use and understand metaphor by studying poetry. Joseph Campbell said that studying poetry was one way that we can experience the transcendent. I’ve certainly found this to be true. 

In this conversation with Joshua Tree poet and songwriter Phillip Rosenberg, we’ll talk about how to read a poem, and open the door to new truths and forms of experience.

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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This jam-packed mythological season has led us through an exploration of elves, Odin, Light, generosity, and little matchgirls. In this program we consider the New Year holiday, time, calendars, the two-faced god Janus, and one other “wrinkle.”

I hope you enjoy this blend of ancient and contemporary reflections on the nature of time– and Happy New Year!

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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The Solstice is the most celebrated day of the year. The annual descent into long, dark nights comes to an end, offering the opportunity for renewal, rebirth, and redemption. These themes are present in this week’s story,  “The Little Match Girl” by Hans Christian Andersen. 

I also read “Twas the Night before Christmas”— because we’re almost there! And if you listen carefully, you’ll hear traces of Odin and The Wild Host in this poem. Happy Solstice and Merry Christmas to you.

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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What’s the mythological link between these three things? Santa Claus. 

In this program I talk about some possible predecessors to the jolly guy we know and tell a couple of stories from Norse mythology. That’s where the eight-legged horse comes in.

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The conclusion of Andersen’s fairy tale about a learned man and his independent shadow.

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Andersen lived a kind of fairy tale life, the sort that starts off with the precocious son of a poor shoemaker and ends with a widely esteemed (albeit neurotic) writer of tales to entertain children and princes. In his stories, Andersen reworked older tales and themes from folk traditions and wove in autobiographical threads and personal concerns. 

The result is both familiar and idiosyncratic.

Andersen wrote this story about a learned man and his independent shadow for an adult audience. It doesn’t include any fairies, thinking toys, magical cloth, or other fantasy beings but there is plenty of mystery and Andersen’s signature humor. I really like the eerie, interior quality of this story.

MITM theme music by Travis Rosenberg. Thanks to Radio Free Joshua Tree for providing MITM a home on internet radio-- and thank you for listening!

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