Day 13

Absent: Alex, Kenny, Cassie

We watched Robin Williamson tell the tale of Tristan & Isolde. He shows one way in which a traditional bard may have mixed satire and local humor with the poetic and sublime material of the romance. Williamson's opening takes us from the present day into the story by way of the bus line to "Chapel Isolde." He makes jokes about America (California wine such as "My Wild Irish Rosé") even as he entrances us with the love magic that overwhelms the two heroes. He played the harp very effectively but when the story called for Tristan to play, he used comic pantomime. In these ways, the storyteller keeps the listener engaged with surprises and broken expectations and reinforces a sense of tribe with locally based humor and "in" jokes all the while creating a romantic tale that enchants our sense of place: Ireland's Chapel Isolde.