You may or may not know much about these folks, but I knew many in my early years. I've seen this done and known people who were killed by this strange worship.
When I wrote the song, I was dealing with the disturbing news that "Punkin" Brown had been killed by a snake bite he received in a service. (my back up singers are my sister and her two beautiful daughters.)
As an anthropology student, I worked with these interesting people. Some of this work is here: http://tidballatcornell.blogspot.com/2008/09/snake-handling-comes-under-scrutiny.html
You're even more talented than I knew - a true Renaissance man, I think!
I don't know Punkin Brown, but I used to teach children from Scrabble Creek, West Virginia, and they were Pentecostal snake handlers. I'm sure if you were there, you know how interesting this phenomenon is.
Welcome to "When I Wax"-- a place to escape the pedants and wax poetic, or even wax artistic.
The mythologist Joseph Campbell was asked by an interviewer how a regular person could preserve his sense of the mythic when so many feel too besieged by the claims of every day living. He said, "You must have a place to which you can go, in your heart, in your mind, or your house, almost every day, where you do not know what you owe anyone or what anyone owes you. You must have a place you can go to where you do not know what your work is or who you work for, where you do not know who you are married to or who your children are."
When I Wax is such a place for me. Blogging drafts of poetry and other sundries is like practice fly-casting on the front lawn... it may look silly, but it's effective...
4 comments:
You may or may not know much about these folks, but I knew many in my early years. I've seen this done and known people who were killed by this strange worship.
Unbelievable but true.
Thanks for your comment Karen.
When I wrote the song, I was dealing with the disturbing news that "Punkin" Brown had been killed by a snake bite he received in a service. (my back up singers are my sister and her two beautiful daughters.)
As an anthropology student, I worked with these interesting people. Some of this work is here:
http://tidballatcornell.blogspot.com/2008/09/snake-handling-comes-under-scrutiny.html
You're even more talented than I knew - a true Renaissance man, I think!
I don't know Punkin Brown, but I used to teach children from Scrabble Creek, West Virginia, and they were Pentecostal snake handlers. I'm sure if you were there, you know how interesting this phenomenon is.
I'll take a look at your link now.
I hadn't thought about this in years. Thanks.
Thanks again Karen.
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