The Iron John Podcast

In this episode, we hear from Robert Bringhurst, poet, author, and lifelong student of Native American languages and literature, as he presents two versions of a Haida story involving a young man transforming into an eagle and becoming head of a village. Robert calls these translations of transcripts of tellings in the Haida language: “A little piece of news from a world that isn’t there anymore.”

And now, here is Robert Bringhurst...

In this episode, Robert Bringhurst narrates, translates, and discusses a Navajo story that was transcribed in the Navajo language by Edward Sapir from a telling by story carrier Chala-tzo in 1929. Robert discusses oral cultures and the dangers oral literatures face when they encounter a literate, grasping, and somewhat deranged culture. The tale focuses on the travels of Changing Woman’s Son to the Six Mountains to bring into the w...

In this episode, Ben Dennis and Walton Stanley, carry the story of Unktehi’s Seventh Spot. An American story of the Dakota people. The story contrasts with European tales as it is a story of gaining great power and, in time, surrendering that power back to its source.

This recording is from the 40th Anniversary Minnesota Men’s Conference that was held in October 2024.

Thanks to Joshua Schmidt for audio engineering the reco...

In this episode we hear a talk from the 40th Anniversary Minnesota Men's Conference which was held in October 2024. Poet, author, and lifelong student and translator of Native American literature, Robert Bringhurst shares two, very different creation stories. As Robert states, “You have to keep telling creation stories because if you don’t the world won’t keep being created and then we will be in real trouble.”

Thanks...

At the recent 40th Anniversary Minnesota Men’s Conference, we revisited the story that started it all, the Grimm’s tale, Iron John. Walton Stanley and Ben Dennis carried the tale this time and, just as it was 40 years ago, the story continues to bring a message about the tempering of the male soul. 

Please enjoy Iron John.

If you enjoy the podcast and would like more information on Minnesota Men's Conference events, go...

In this episode, we interview Robert Bringhurst, who will be one of the presenters are the upcoming 40th Anniversary Minnesota Men's Conference (October 1 through 6, 2024).
 
Robert Bringhurst is a lifelong student of Native American languages and literatures. His major work in this field is a three-volume study of Haida oral literature: two volumes of translation of the works of the Haida mythtellers Ghandl and Skaay,...

This Episode is a recording from an Elder’s Circle session with our friends at Fifth Direction, a community of soul depth, based in Australia. The Fifth Direction web site can be found at: https://thefifthdirection.com/. The session is facilitated by Asher Packman. 

Timothy Young interviews poet and author Thomas R. Smith on his memories of editing the festschrift, Walking Swiftly: Writings & Images on the Occasion of Robert Bly...

In this episode, we interview Timothy Frantzich, Nicholas Pawlowski, and Doug von Koss on their experiences leading “Perfection-Free Singing Circles at Men’s Conferences. The singing at conferences involves men singing together and creating beauty without expectation, without judgement, and with an emphasis on expression over perfection. Such singing is based on the raw beauty of participation rather than on the need to sing with t...