Overview

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 Kirkegaard 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 Along with illustrations of each story, the book features some of Bly's unpublished poetry, which peppers his lyric prose and offers a look inside the mind of an American master of letters in the twilight of his singular career.

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9781250158192

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Reviews

Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life

A terrific blend of the timeless and the modern. . . .an in-depth exploration of human psychology. . . .a blend of the comforts of the oral storytelling tradition with the rigor of the modern analytic approach -- sometimes heady, sometimes contemplative. . . .a bold blend of storytelling traditions and psychological explorations. --The Star Tribune In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins A great poet observes a complex combination of seemingly random unconnected events and reveals their distilled essence. From the agricultural ditches of snowy Minnesota to the dense forests of fairy tales, Robert has opened my mind time and again to the beauty of this life. Here again, I have to lie down and sleep after reading just one of his reflections on an old story. Sometimes only a dream will digest a great piece of writing. Thank you, Robert. --Mark Rylance, actor Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly Readings by a generous, gifted writer who asks his readers to be open to a story's poetry, its 'light by which we may see life.' --Kirkus Reviews In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins A great poet observes a complex combination of seemingly random unconnected events and reveals their distilled essence. From the agricultural ditches of snowy Minnesota to the dense forests of fairy tales, Robert has opened my mind time and again to the beauty of this life. Here again, I have to lie down and sleep after reading just one of his reflections on an old story. Sometimes only a dream will digest a great piece of writing. Thank you, Robert. --Mark Rylance, actor Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly Readings by a generous, gifted writer who asks his readers to be open to a story's poetry, its 'light by which we may see life.' --Kirkus Reviews Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life

Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life

Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life

In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins A great poet observes a complex combination of seemingly random unconnected events and reveals their distilled essence. From the agricultural ditches of snowy Minnesota to the dense forests of fairy tales, Robert has opened my mind time and again to the beauty of this life. Here again, I have to lie down and sleep after reading just one of his reflections on an old story. Sometimes only a dream will digest a great piece of writing. Thank you, Robert. --Mark Rylance, actor Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly Readings by a generous, gifted writer who asks his readers to be open to a story's poetry, its 'light by which we may see life.' --Kirkus Reviews Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life

A terrific blend of the timeless and the modern. . . .an in-depth exploration of human psychology. . . .a blend of the comforts of the oral storytelling tradition with the rigor of the modern analytic approach -- sometimes heady, sometimes contemplative. . . .a bold blend of storytelling traditions and psychological explorations. --The Star Tribune In More Than True, Robert Bly takes us down in his critical diving bell through the fathoms of Jung and Freud then deeper still into his own poetic configuring of these mythic tales. The result of the exploration is a refreshened, multivalent view or some of our culture's fundamental stories registered in the distinctive voice of a most compelling poet. --Billy Collins A great poet observes a complex combination of seemingly random unconnected events and reveals their distilled essence. From the agricultural ditches of snowy Minnesota to the dense forests of fairy tales, Robert has opened my mind time and again to the beauty of this life. Here again, I have to lie down and sleep after reading just one of his reflections on an old story. Sometimes only a dream will digest a great piece of writing. Thank you, Robert. --Mark Rylance, actor Robert Bly's More Than True has elements of both a guidebook and a spiritual autobiography, and its shrewd commentary on six stories takes us to the heart of several luminous truths that can come alive only in narratives. This book is wise and beguiling, a testament to years of thought. --Charles Baxter Robert Bly's marvelous, wide-ranging adventures in poetry and prose are always fighting off what he calls 'the dictatorship of the ego, ' and here he mines six fairy tales for their inner depths, their deep wisdom, and carries back what he knows about Union and Separation, grief and sweetness. More Than True is daring, strange, and exalted. --Edward Hirsch A wonderful, thought-provoking book. Bly's speculative, poetic musings on the hidden meaning of these messages from our distant ancestors throw up even more questions; just like a great poem. Bly gives form and meaning to hidden half-realised messages transmitted to us by our distant ancestors through fairy stories. His insights result in such an overwhelming torrent of ideas in the reader that it is best to take it one chapter at a time. Bly's delightful, provocative, musings show that fairy tales are instruction manuals in the struggle to become emotionally alive and the fight against brutalism and authoritarianism. --Barry Miles, author of Call Me Burroughs: A Life Bly whimsically retells the often idiosyncratic stories in vibrant detail...dissect[ing] their essences with help from the theories of such thinkers as Jung, Kafka, Shelley, and Wang Wei, and he ornaments these ideas with excerpts from his own poems, many never before published...beautiful...[a] gorgeously written book. --Publishers Weekly Readings by a generous, gifted writer who asks his readers to be open to a story's poetry, its 'light by which we may see life.' --Kirkus Reviews

Author Information

Robert Bly (1926-2021) was an American poet, author, activist, translator, and leader of the mythopoetic men's movement. His book Iron John: A Book About Men was a key text of the movement, and spent 62 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He won the 1968 National Book Award for poetry for his book The Light Around the Body, and was named Minnesota's first poet laureate in 2008. He also received the Maurice English Poetry Award, and the Poetry Society of America's Robert Frost Medal for lifetime achievement. Bly's other poetic works include More Than True: The Wisdom of Fairy Tales, Loving a Woman in Two Worlds, and Stealing Sugar from the Castle: Selected and New Poems, 1950-2013.

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