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''A picture is worth a thousand words', goes the old adage - and that is certainly true of a new book of photographs of England's seasonal festivities captured by Sara Hannant.' -- www.badwitch.co.uk/
'Subtitled 'A journey through the English ritual year', this compendium of bizarre feasts and festivals marks the changing seasons.' --The Times
'Sara Hannant's remarkable photograph's convey, with joy and compassion, the mystery, charm and exuberance of traditional English ritual.' -- Shirley Collins, President of the English Folk Dance and Song Society
'Sara has a rare gift for capturing peak moments in such celebrations: the human participants emerge as vivid characters in their own right, adding depth to the drama and humour of the local seasonal rites in which they are involved. She is a genuinely talented artist, and a great boon to a scholar.' -- Professor Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol
'Wonderful photographs - funny, moving, lovely and very human' ---- Mali Morris, RA
'It's primarily a photographic book - a snapshot of some parts of the ritual year that have caught Hannant's eye and lens - and it is gorgeous… It deserves to be widely seen and enjoyed.' -- http://humphreywithhisflail.blogspot.com/
'Hannant's eyecatching, reportage-style photographs capture the mystery and eccentricity of customs which for her "play such an important role in the cultural identity of present day England"…' -- The Countryman
'Sara has captured the energy and vibrancy of her selected customs' --English Dance & Song magazine, www.efdss.org
'Hannant's charming and informative photo essay brings to life this quintessentially English obsession... she captures the warmth, drama, humour and emotion of these quaint events with an artist s eye. An oddly moving book.' --F22 Magazine
'Hannant's charming and informative photo essay brings to life this quintessentially English obsession... she captures the warmth, drama, humour and emotion of these quaint events with an artist s eye. An oddly moving book.' --F22 (Eyes Wide Open) Magazine
'It's primarily a photographic book - a snapshot of some parts of the ritual year that have caught Hannant's eye and lens - and it is gorgeous… It deserves to be widely seen and enjoyed.' -- http://humphreywithhisflail.blogspot.com/
'Hannant's eyecatching, reportage-style photographs capture the mystery and eccentricity of customs which for her "play such an important role in the cultural identity of present day England"…' -- The Countryman
'Sara has captured the energy and vibrancy of her selected customs' --English Dance & Song magazine, www.efdss.org
'Subtitled 'A journey through the English ritual year', this compendium of bizarre feasts and festivals marks the changing seasons.' --The Times
'Sara Hannant's remarkable photograph's convey, with joy and compassion, the mystery, charm and exuberance of traditional English ritual.' -- Shirley Collins, President of the English Folk Dance and Song Society
'Sara has a rare gift for capturing peak moments in such celebrations: the human participants emerge as vivid characters in their own right, adding depth to the drama and humour of the local seasonal rites in which they are involved. She is a genuinely talented artist, and a great boon to a scholar.' -- Professor Ronald Hutton, University of Bristol
'Wonderful photographs - funny, moving, lovely and very human' ---- Mali Morris, RA
'It's primarily a photographic book - a snapshot of some parts of the ritual year that have caught Hannant's eye and lens - and it is gorgeous… It deserves to be widely seen and enjoyed.' -- http://humphreywithhisflail.blogspot.com/
'Hannant's eyecatching, reportage-style photographs capture the mystery and eccentricity of customs which for her "play such an important role in the cultural identity of present day England"…' -- The Countryman
'Sara has captured the energy and vibrancy of her selected customs' --English Dance & Song magazine, www.efdss.org
'Hannant's charming and informative photo essay brings to life this quintessentially English obsession... she captures the warmth, drama, humour and emotion of these quaint events with an artist s eye. An oddly moving book.' --F22 Magazine
'Hannant's charming and informative photo essay brings to life this quintessentially English obsession... she captures the warmth, drama, humour and emotion of these quaint events with an artist s eye. An oddly moving book.' --F22 (Eyes Wide Open) Magazine
'It's primarily a photographic book - a snapshot of some parts of the ritual year that have caught Hannant's eye and lens - and it is gorgeous… It deserves to be widely seen and enjoyed.' -- http://humphreywithhisflail.blogspot.com/
'Hannant's eyecatching, reportage-style photographs capture the mystery and eccentricity of customs which for her "play such an important role in the cultural identity of present day England"…' -- The Countryman
'Sara has captured the energy and vibrancy of her selected customs' --English Dance & Song magazine, www.efdss.org
Product Description
In Whittlesey, Cambridgeshire, a man covered from head to toe in straw - the 'straw bear' - is paraded through the streets, accompanied by 250 dancers, musicians and performers, while in Ottery St Mary, Devon, a crowd gathers as townspeople hoist barrels of flaming tar on to their shoulders and carry them until they are too hot to handle. Award-winning photographer Sara Hannant has travelled the length and breadth of the country, capturing the seemingly bizarre regional rituals - costumed processions, symbolic dramatizations, traditional dances and fire ceremonies - that mark the changing seasons. Many of these customs claim an ancient origin, and are kept alive today by local communities. Hannant's vibrant photographs reflect her keen eye for the unexpected, offering a captivating and surprising study of English identity.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I've just been given a copy of 'Mummers, Maypoles and Milkmaids' by a friend, who knew I like history, English culture and documentary photography.
While the documentary tradition is a natural genre for Merrie England, photographers have often approached the landscapes of the traditional event as over-romanticised, minus the incongruous incidentals cropped out to sell us a product of tourist-led Morris Men - all that a modern Britain has shunned. The ignorant auslander perceiving them nowadays as bearded fruitcakes.
I've seen various other books and articles on this subject, the most obvious is the photography that Tony Ray-Jones undertook in the 70s as part of his English series. Although structurally brilliant, his pictures often treated his subjects as part of a laughable circus, rather than an important record of our heritage.
But here in 'Mummers .. ' we see a photographer in tune with a nation desperately hanging on to its ancient roots through a healthy revivalist calendar. Before industrialised agriculture, we were connected to the land for survival in ways we can barely nowadays comprehend and Sara Hannant shows us how the locals of England's rural backwaters, the lovers of nostalgia, still indulge their sense of our precious pagan past.
A lorry laden with local straw charges through Sowerby Bridge where by chance, the Rush-bearing festival is in full flow. On the days of yore, these people would have brought in their own harvest and then found time for their community carnival until the advent of stone instead of the rush mat floor. How many other such practices are now lost forever?
I love the Mayor of Ock Street as he passes the local chippy in Abingdon, its fish avatar perfectly spaced between the dignitaries; or the druid-like cult of the digital camera, seemingly proffered to an unknown sky deity amid the sarcens at Stonehenge.
My favourites however are the Hunting of the Earl of Rone where the community of Combe Martin turns out to forget its economic woes: ".. the evolution of a pre-Christian scapegoat ritual," followed by the fantastic burning of the David Cameron effigy, the blaming and subsequent exorcising of a latter-day bogyman.
Thankfully there is someone dedicated and undeterred like Hannant who can take herself across our counties to find and record these lores and communal customs. As an outside, she is nonetheless among kindred spirits.
This book of reportage is important and well worth the price. But one word of complaint: I do wish publishers wouldn't wrap books about the 'countryside' in green gloss.
While the documentary tradition is a natural genre for Merrie England, photographers have often approached the landscapes of the traditional event as over-romanticised, minus the incongruous incidentals cropped out to sell us a product of tourist-led Morris Men - all that a modern Britain has shunned. The ignorant auslander perceiving them nowadays as bearded fruitcakes.
I've seen various other books and articles on this subject, the most obvious is the photography that Tony Ray-Jones undertook in the 70s as part of his English series. Although structurally brilliant, his pictures often treated his subjects as part of a laughable circus, rather than an important record of our heritage.
But here in 'Mummers .. ' we see a photographer in tune with a nation desperately hanging on to its ancient roots through a healthy revivalist calendar. Before industrialised agriculture, we were connected to the land for survival in ways we can barely nowadays comprehend and Sara Hannant shows us how the locals of England's rural backwaters, the lovers of nostalgia, still indulge their sense of our precious pagan past.
A lorry laden with local straw charges through Sowerby Bridge where by chance, the Rush-bearing festival is in full flow. On the days of yore, these people would have brought in their own harvest and then found time for their community carnival until the advent of stone instead of the rush mat floor. How many other such practices are now lost forever?
I love the Mayor of Ock Street as he passes the local chippy in Abingdon, its fish avatar perfectly spaced between the dignitaries; or the druid-like cult of the digital camera, seemingly proffered to an unknown sky deity amid the sarcens at Stonehenge.
My favourites however are the Hunting of the Earl of Rone where the community of Combe Martin turns out to forget its economic woes: ".. the evolution of a pre-Christian scapegoat ritual," followed by the fantastic burning of the David Cameron effigy, the blaming and subsequent exorcising of a latter-day bogyman.
Thankfully there is someone dedicated and undeterred like Hannant who can take herself across our counties to find and record these lores and communal customs. As an outside, she is nonetheless among kindred spirits.
This book of reportage is important and well worth the price. But one word of complaint: I do wish publishers wouldn't wrap books about the 'countryside' in green gloss.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Marvellous! I went to see the exhibition and bought the book. It's a wonderful observation of English seasonal rites and rituals. The photography is stunning and captures beautifully contemporary folkloric practice. A rich and often surprising heritage is revealed in these images. I particularly like the juxtaposition of tradition and modern life. A unique insight into Englishness.
Mark Hewitson
Mark Hewitson
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I very much enjoyed the book. The photographs give an inspirng account of the resilience and longevity of traditional rites, re-interpreted for today's realities. Unselfconscious ritual behaviour meets flamboyant acting out, rural customs rub against suburban realities - all meet in this marvellous collection of photographs, shot with real sympathy to the emotional richness that participation in these celebratory acts gives to each and everyone depicted in the photographs. England seems different and richer in its cultural rituals after reading and looking at this book.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Sara Hannant brings English Rituals into the 21st century
Sara Hannant brings English Rituals to life through her unique photographer's eye in this informative, surprising book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Carol
mummers, maypoles and milkmaids
Astonishingly beautiful images, exquisitely executed, make a magical trip through the rituals of the English year. Fascinating, informative and inspiring, a book to keep forever.
Published 5 months ago by germaine dolan
Just what I have been waiting for.
This is a beautiful,atmospheric and informative book,and just what I have been waiting for.
Beginning in January and working its way through to december, we are taken on a... Read more
Beginning in January and working its way through to december, we are taken on a... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Sonya
Fantastic - a book that would be at home anywhere.
What a great book that so many people would enjoy were they to see it. Who couldn't be interested in our very own English folk traditions that embellish our local and national... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Jack
A New Ritual Year
This is magnificent contemporary photo book with informative text. The fascinating images include a range of communal rites and rituals that mark the turning year, from fire... Read more
Published 6 months ago by Michael Rudd
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