Folklore Rising: An Artist's Journey through the British Ritual Year

by Ben Edge

Ben Edge is a rising star of both the art world and the current folk renaissance. This first trade book of Edge's art, featuring over 200 artworks, is a unique insight into his creative process as well as the first mainstream book to explore the amazing and wildly popular folk customs of the British ritual year.

Ben Edge has travelled the length and breadth of Britain recording the weird and wonderful folk customs alive in communities all over the country. In this book, the first trade edition of his art, he shares over 200 paintings and photographs, along with real-life stories, anecdotes and legends. He talks about how connecting with our incredible living folklore helped him recover from depression, and also introduces his idea of folklore activism, suggesting that suggesting that the current massive resurgence of interest in contemporary folk culture represents ordinary people’s desire to find new ways of envisioning community and caring for and connecting to nature. Readers will be enchanted and inspired by the images and description of:

• Mass events that are attended by thousands such as the solstices at Stonehenge, the Padstow ‘Obby ‘Oss parade, the Burry Man’s Day and the Straw Bear of Whittlesea.
• Practices to celebrate the turning wheel of the year, from wassailing to May Day fertility rites to fire festivals to Mumming Plays.
• The progressive all-female Morris dancing side Boss Morris.
• The Green Man – how this has become an icon of modern spirituality and eco-consciousness and a personal symbol of mental health recovery to Ben.
• Standing stones and the mythology surrounding them.

Overall the book explores the psyche of British folklore, showing how this has fed into his art and what this means in the context of contemporary life. It's a book about reconnection with nature, each other and the past through art and folklore.

Genres: Folklore, Art

300 pages, Hardcover

Published October 8, 2024

About the author

Ben Edge is a writer from the land of sheep and rain, which many people refer to as Wales, in the United Kingdom.
He published his first short story, She Died With Gum In Her Hair, in July of 2013. He is a full time geek and enjoys many geeky things such as comic books, cartoons, movies and science fiction.
His second book, The Devil's Lantern, a historical fiction novel, was released in May 2015, followed by a Western 'The Last Wolf' in August 2017.

Ben still lives in the Welsh Valleys with his wife, Natalie.

Reviews

[Stefan Nordin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting sampler of British folklore and customs. Edge describes the festivals and happenings from a very personal perspective that makes it easy for the reader to imagine how it must feel to be present at these events.
Well written and inspiring. It made me want to start cataloging and visiting the swedish equivalents of what he describes.

[Callan Denham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Phenomenal. Great artwork from Ben Edge for each folk custom experienced from equinox to equinox. A really good introduction to the many folk traditions throughout the UK

[Cheryl McEnaney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben Edge's paintings are wonderful, and the people and traditions he documents are fascinating, amusing, and haunting all at once. I would love to use this book as a travel guide and go to experience the actual rituals in person; those would be some amazing and unforgettable journeys.

[Kelly Furniss · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

A fascinating exploration of folklore tradition backed up by stunning art from the talented author/artist Ben Edge.
If you have ever wondered why we have some of the traditions we do then get this book, I think everyone will learn something from amongst these pages.

[Florian Ecker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about British folklore, its traditions, stories and rituals. Edge's reflections on these traditions that can be seen in his paintings are quite wonderful (even if it's also a bit repetitive). It gave me lots of insight on the effects of common traditions and its universality. What really touched me though was the author's description on how his country's folklore and the in-depth examination of and participation with it healed his inner self.The conclusion of it all made me tear up a little and once again brought me closer to and left me eager to be engaged even more in my own country's folklore and nature.