“Tricking Power into Performing Acts of Love weaves together delightful stories of mischief from famous tricksters.”
Open Your Mind...
…to grownups who play as they did when children, play in order to keep on playing, not to win or defeat. Such folks will encounter and engage with the Trickster, humanity’s oldest known archetype. The Child plays for fun, and the Warrior plays to win, but the Trickster’s play disrupts the Warrior’s contest, and opens a portal to a wider range of societal possibilities. Click around to learn more.
…a thoughtful examination of shared attributes of Tricksters across genres, time periods, and cultures, from the Native American coyote and Zulu weasel to “The Fool” in King Lear and Bugs Bunny. Though the book’s firm command of the scholarly literature surrounding Tricksters will appeal to academics, its approachable, often jovial, writing style will also appeal to a wide audience.
Public Speaking
Shepherd Siegel would love to meet you, engage with and play with you and yers. Within the conventions of a featured speaker, but of course! With more than a nod to the magic of vaudeville, standup, and the fruits of diligent research. Dr. Siegel brings the Trickster archetype to life right before your very eyes. And explains how giving tricksters their due is going to make the world a better place.Recent Posts
Oh You Poor Things!
Haven’t seen the movie “Poor Things?” Want its surprises? Then GO SEE IT before you read this… and in the meantime, click the image below v v v A LITTLE PLUG FOR YOU BOOK CLUBBERS [CLICK!] In their 2018 period comedy The Favourite, Arizonan Emma Stone and Athenian Yorgos Lanthimos gave us clues of mischief…
It’s Another 50th Anniversary!
HEY PLAYSTERS! Apropos of nothing, I want to share with you an excerpt from Disruptive Play: The Trickster in Politics and Culture. Well, not quite nothing. For the most direct route to Trickster essence is through its Great American Icon, Bugs Bunny. When I wrote Disruptive Play, not so long ago, I was certain that…
International Trickster Day is January 17!
This year, we observe the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday on January 15th. May that transcendent leader for civil rights, a just society, and spiritual growth continue to inspire. But EVERY year, January 17th is International Trickster Day (I hereby declare). No fewer than six of history’s great tricksters were born on this day,…