Gathering the Fragments: Storytelling and Cultural Resistance in Cornwall

The central theme of this book is the importance of the act of shared memory in reconstituting identity in every generation. This is particularly so where the traditional culture of the community has been under threat from a powerful neighbour, as is the case in Cornwall, and this is why the same pattern tends to recur, not because of direct cultural transmission, but because the same problems evoke similar responses. In such a context, storytelling becomes an act of cultural resistance.

This book is predicated on the importance of story­telling. We use stories to make sense of our lives and our world,where we came from and where we might be going. These stories deal with personal experience, though they also incorporate historical and cultural experience which indicates where our experience might intersect with that of others. On an individual level, stories can help us cope with developmental issues which we all face, but they also bind us together in a shared understanding of who we are. Language is central to this and the struggle to reclaim its ancient language is an important theme in recent Cornish history and in this book.

Brendan McMahon is a retired psychotherapist and university teacher living in Derbyshire. He has pub­lished widely on the psychodynamics of Celtic myth and legend. His book "The Princess Who Ate People", appeared in 2006 (Heart of Albion Press), and his book "A Wreck upon the Ocean" appeared in 2015 (Evertype).