 The Bardic Handbook by Kevan Manwaring This complete manual for the Twenty-First-Century Bard contains all you need to know to start you on the Bardic Path. Here you will find inspiration and instruction, whether you want to dedicate yourself to the Way of Awen, or simply wish to improve your public-speaking skills and be able to express yourself with confidence. Learn how to enchant an audience with gramarye, through poetry, storytelling and songcraft, and how to use the magic of words to bless, honour, heal and celebrate your identity, community and heritage.With an easy-to-follow 12 month self-study programme and week-by-week exercises and mini-lessons about bardic lore, this book will lead you along the Way of Awen. For ease of understanding and to invoke inspiration, the book is divided into five parts corresponding to the elements of the Western Magical Tradition: Spirit, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. An inspiring handbook of creative wisdom, The Bardic Handbook also includes ‘The Dialogue of the Two Sages’ by Robin Williamson (master harper, storyteller, and author of The Craneskin Bag and co-author of Celtic Bards, Celtic Druids) and features a foreword by Emma Restall Orr, author of Druid Priestess, Ritual and Living Druidry: “…This is why Kevan’s Bardic Handbook is such an important publication. The tradition of the Bard is far too broad for any book to be comprehensive, yet this one is a beautiful wide basket filled with nourishment, with the apples and hazelnuts so abundant in the landscape of our heritage…“It is accessible, easy to read, doesn’t require much education or previous knowledge, and yet still contains moments of history, mythology, philosophy and mysticism, interspersed with the challenge to practical commitment.” Emma Restall Orr Reviews: ‘It is beautifully researched, crafted, laid-out and presented. It should be compulsory reading for every bard!’ Claire Hamilton, author (Tales of the Celtic Bards; Maiden, Mother, Crone)
"The essential practical guide for the budding bard." Greywolf 'Best Druid Books' (Amazon list) Review by Damh the Bard:
'Well,
if you do, this book is your one-stop shop. Well-researched, inspiring,
full of sound advice and entertainingly written by a writer who is
himself a very fine bard. I've seen him in performance and he is the
real deal, bringing the old myths and legends of our land to vivid
life. Here he deals with both the craft of the Celtic bard and the rich
historical and spiritual background that lies behind it. These are the
bardic arts as understood and practiced by modern Druid bards. In
short, what you have here is a practical guide to being a bard by a
bard, and a very good one at that. Highly recommended.' 'Thank you for
writing a very easy to read and clear to follow book on the Path
of Bards.' Monica
Glastonbury, England 2006 ISBN: 0 906 362 67 9 320pp Full Colour £14.99 |
The Way of Awen
journey of a bard by Kevan Manwaring Awaken the bard within in this inspiring journey into your creative potential. Reviews: Cathal O'Briain, Author of "Powerful Mind through Self-Hypnosis" (O-Books) 'The Way of Awen is very much aimed at folks already on the bardic path. I think to really benefit from it, you need to be a bard in training and/or into Kevan's work. Being both, I absolutely loved it. His writing is incredibly rich and inspiring to read. This is not for newbies, but if you sound like it might suit you, then I heartily recommend it.' Bryn, Good Reads I'm reading your book and loving it! I
intend on working through it over the year, very inspirational! Sarah, Wessex Gathering 'Few writers have done more than Kevan over the years to inspire
people to unlock their creative potential. Building on the foundation
of his The Bardic Handbook (2006), in this companion volume he
now explores the journey the bardic initiate must undertake, and how
the awen can be applied to daily life - work, play, relationships,
travel, money and so on. ... The second part of The Way of Awen comprises insightful and
often-revealing extracts from Kevan’s journals and notebooks,
detailing some of the highways and byways of his own bardic journey
over two decades. Thus, unlike The Bardic Handbook, this new
book is not a manual but a personal, intuitive account based on the
authenticity of Kevan’s own experience and ‘response to the
awen’. Geoff Ward, Mysterious Planet/Suite 101 'Since I have begun to read The
Handbook, I have begun to read "The Way of Awen" in tandem.
I find the stories within a great help. Both books are great
companions of each other.' 'I
wish to say I loved Kevan`s book and am in full agreement with all
the things written in it.I believe Kevan to be one of the bright
lights of our poetic age and he has done so much for us all.' 'Amazing
piece of work. Actually, I've yet to read anything of Kevan's
that didn't rock. I've been talking a lot with my son and
partner about The Way of Awen - both the book and the concept. We're
feeling very much that this is a term we'd like to adopt and work
with, as a way of expression what we're about.' Published by O Books UK 2010 ISBN: 978-1-84694-311-9 391 pp Price: £14.99 || $29.95 |
 The Book of the Bardic Chair Foreword by Ronald Hutton Featuring the Bardic Chairs of… *Wales*Cornwall*Brittany*Isle of Man*Channel Islands* From the global to the local, the 2008 edition focuses on the Bardic Chair of CaerBadon (Bath, Somerset) as an example of the most successfully revived English Chair to date – featuring the 12th Bard. · Profile of each of the Chaired Bards, Ovates and Druids. Contributions by Ronald Hutton, Caitlín Matthews, RJ Stewart, Moyra Caldecott, Graham Harvey, Tim Sebastion Woodman, Philip Shallcrass (Greywolf) & many more... Reviews:‘It’s quite possibly the druidic bargain of the decade’ The Druid’s Voice ‘It continues to sum up a remarkable achievement, produced by an extraordinary city and community.’ Ronald Hutton The Druid Network review:This book is many things - a history, a directory, a guide, a sourcebook, and a work in progress. I have read the 08 edition, but it is evident the intention is to update this work as the bardic chair movement grows. The book is both a record of that development, and a means for furthering it. There's such a rich and diverse selection of writing here. It includes a history of bardic chairs, and overview of chairs around the world, a detailed history of the chair of Caer Badon, insights into the works of chaired bards, including samples of their creations, suggestions for how to run chairs and details of bardic gatherings. Reading it, I felt sorely tempted to try and set something up - even though I don't realistically have time. Kevan's writing is persuasive, and the subject matter inspiring. He expresses not only why such gatherings are important, but makes it feel eminently do-able. One of the things I especially loved is that he presents the bard path as a thing in its own right - rooted in Celtic culture, but not exclusively that, and certainly not ‘druid level one'. Spiritual but not proselytising, competitive but not exclusive, the chairs are as much about the wider community and inclusion as they are about a few talented people strutting their stuff on the day. The bardic movement is a peace movement, and a green movement, it is for community, earth, connection and inspiration and we need more of this. For anyone drawn to the modern bard path, this is well worth reading. For those exploring the modern history of paganism, it's going to be a valuable resource. For anyone seeking inspiration, there are all kinds of gems gathered here. It's a book I know I will be going back to, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it evolves in future editions. Bryn Colvin, The Druid Network Published by RJ Stewart Books, USA, 2008 ISBN: 978-0-9819246-1-8 Price: ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY via www.rjstewart.net |
