'Mythical Creatures' sets out some of the most fantastical beings to haunt the dreams and imaginations of mankind. Each spread features a different category of beasts, such as sea monsters, giants, dragons and magical horses.
James Harpur has had four poetry collections published by Anvil Press: A Vision of Comets (1993), The Monk’s Dream (1996), Oracle Bones (2001) and The Dark Age (2007). Anvil have also published his Fortune’s Prisoner, a translation of the poems of Boethius. In addition, he has published a sequence of religious poems called The Gospel of Joseph of Arimathea (Wild Goose, 2008). His prose publications include Love Burning in the Soul (Shambhala, 2005), an introduction to the Christian mystics.
After studying Classics and English at university, he taught English on the island of Crete then worked as a lexicographer. He is now a freelance writer.
James has won a number of prizes for his poetry, including the 1995 British National Poetry Competition. He has received various awards and bursaries, such as from Cork Arts, the Eric Gregory Trust, the Society of Authors, the Arts Council (UK), and the Hawthornden Foundation. His poems have been broadcast on national and local radio in Ireland and the UK and have appeared in various anthologies. These include Staying Alive (Bloodaxe, 2002), Ireland’s Love Poems (Kyle Cathie, 2000), The New Exeter Book of Riddles (Enitharmon, 2002), The Forward Book of Poetry (Faber, 2001), Voices in the Gallery (Tate Publishing 1986).
He has performed his poetry widely at poetry festivals and venues, including the Triskel Arts Centre (Cork), the Voice Box (London), the ICA (London), and the Irish Writers’ Centre (Dublin). He has held poetry residencies at the Munster Literature Centre in Cork and at Exeter Cathedral in the UK.
He is currently poetry editor of the Temenos Academy Review, a publication founded by the poet and William Blake scholar, Kathleen Raine, and of Southword, one of Ireland’s leading literary journals.
This is actually a really good book, immensely entertaining with lots of images and interactive pop-ups as well as very intriguing information, tales, and wisdom from various mythologies (although mostly Greek and Old Norse). Perfect for children and, well, me.
A fantastic and engaging book about mythical creatures and where the stories originated. It has fantastic illustrations and added extras that children can actively engage with.
'Spellbinding tales of fearsome beasts, terrifying creatures and magical monsters' My son's of an age where he laps this stuff at the moment; the stories are short and not difficult to read, the books is full of bright colorful pictures with the added bonus of pop out's on some pages and there's even a game when you get to the end! Perfect for a bedtime read or just leave them with it for guaranteed peace and quiet, though you might just be missing out if you do that.
Mythical Creatures by James Harpur was a fascinating book about fictional monsters. It includes over 25 biographies of monsters including: Cyclops, Bigfoot, Reptoid alien, and much more! The book talks about the parts of the monster's bodies and the stories about them.