Fjallabók is |
THOROLF'S BOOK-HOARD Thorolf
A REVIEW FOR THEOD. Theod is a digest-sized, photocopied journal produced by our Anglo-Saxon cousins in New York. The production values are really quite good, considering the limitations of photocopying technology. The occasional use of Anglo-Saxon characters (such as "ash" and "yogh") may be initially distracting to some, but all such characters are fully explained on the inside cover, and its really no worse than the runic inscriptions that pepper other journals. The articles contain a great deal of interesting information. I was particularly intrigued by Jeffrey Kaplan's "Reconstruction of the Ásatrú and Odinist Traditions" (part 1 of 2). This article, reprinted from the author's Master thesis, goes into great detail about the early days of the Revival in this country, and explains just why Norse Pagans have such an unsavory reputation in some circles. The other articles, although entertaining and interesting, tend to lack focus. Garman Lord's "What's so special about Woden?", for example, begins with an examination of Woden, detour through Garman's rough-and-tumble childhood, and ends up as a discussion of Ing as a god of frith and the common man. The issues that Garman raises are certainly worth thinking about and discussing, but a more structured approach would have been more compelling, particularly to those of us with an academic bias (which I freely admit to having). Having exposed my nasty little secret ("Gasp! He's a Thorian scholar!"), I am now free to quabble about the lack of reference information contained in Theod's articles. I realize that not all knowledge is contained in books, and that the traditional academic writing style is dry as dust, and further, that full footnote citations intimidate some folks. I am certainly not arguing that all articles on Nordic lore should be written in such a fashion. Some assurance, however, that the authors are not just making stuff up goes a long way in establishing credibility, particularly among those that are not of our tradition. Christians love to point out "distortions" and "persions" of the historical record, as Gert's article on the days of the weeks shows, and the less amunition we can give them, the better. Finally, I found the article on "Truth and Freedom of Conscience" somewhat troubling. The article (written by the editorial staff and aimed at young people) uses a metaphor for the learning process: the mind is a black board which needs to be cleaned before new information can be effectively presented. The metaphor itself is similar to one of my favorite Zen proverbs about the Empty Cup, and does not bother me in and of itself. Blanket statements such as "everything you have learned on an unclean blackboard is false," however, give me the creeping willies. The authors do point out that cleaning another person's blackboard against that person's will is brainwashing, but I do not thing that the point is made strong enough. Nor do the authors seem to recognise that the most insidious forms of brainwashing involve convincing one to "clean one's own blackboard", then giving that person only "approved" information. Ok, ok, it is an article for kids and their's no point in scaring them, but a note to adults that would be presenting this material would be in order. Given the already garbled picture that most mainstream people have of us pagans, we flat out cannot afford to send mixed signals on this issue. All in all, Theod is not bad. Given the level of writing that Gert and Garman have produced elsewhere, however, it could be far, far better.
|
