Iron John: A Book about MenThe 25th anniversary edition of the groundbreaking New York Times bestseller, with a new afterword by the author--which offers a new vision of what it is to be a man In this timeless and deeply learned classic, poet and translator Robert Bly offers nothing less than a new vision of what it means to be a man. Bly's vision is based on his ongoing work with men, as well as on reflections on his own life. He addresses the devastating effects of remote fathers and mourns the disappearance of male initiation rites in our culture. Finding rich meaning in ancient stories and legends, Bly uses the Grimm fairy tale "Iron John"-in which a mentor or "Wild Man" guides a young man through eight stages of male growth-to remind us of ways of knowing long forgotten, images of deep and vigorous masculinity centered in feeling and protective of the young. At once down-to-earth and elevated, combining the grandeur of myth with the practical and often painful lessons of our own histories, Iron John is an astonishing work that will continue to guide and inspire men-and women-for years to come. |
Contents
WHEN ONE HAIR TURNS GOLD | |
THE ROAD OF ASHES DESCENT AND GRIEF | |
THE HUNGER FOR THE KING IN A TIME WITH NO FATHER | |
THE MEETING WITH THE GODWOMAN IN THE GARDEN | |
TO BRING THE INTERIOR WARRIORS BACK TO LIFE | |
RIDING THE RED THE WHITE AND THE BLACK HORSES | |
THE WOUND BY THE KINGS | |
The Wild Man in Ancient Religion Literature and Folk Life | |
The Story of Iron John | |
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Common terms and phrases
adult animal Antonio Machado ashes asked battle become boar body boy’s cage called centuries César Vallejo child Copyright culture D. H. Lawrence dark side Dionysus doesn’t earth energy Enkidu father feel female feminine fight finger forest garden gardener’s give gold golden apple golden ball golden hair Greek grief Grimm brothers happened head Hermes holy horse human imagine initiation initiatory inner King inside Iron John James Hillman katabasis killed King’s daughter King’s men knight live look male man’s masculine men’s mentor mood mother mother’s pillow move mythological naïve never Odysseus older person poem psyche ritual space Robert Bly Rolf Jacobsen Sacred King sexual shame son’s sort soul spiritual spring story says sword talk tarboosh There’s things thirtyfive Translated by R.B. turned walked warrior Wild Man’s women wound Yeats Zeus