Description

Myths in Isolation is a gorgeous art book with new folk tales, myths and fantasy stories inspired by the artworks of Katherine Soutar. The book is a collective response to the 2020 pandemic. In a state of desperation, the artist began creating a painting each day of mythological creatures from A-Z. The images express the way the artist herself was feeling on the day that she created them. Sharing them on social media, excitement grew. A suggestion to make the stories into a book from Katherine’s publisher-to-be, Tom Muir, sparked a flurry of stories from some talented authors. The original artwork blends beautifully with the stories written especially for them by sixteen different authors.

One special chapter features the unicorn, the story of which is Katherine’s own: a song written by her deceased husband, the great folk singer-songwriter and guitarist Bill Caddick – ‘Unicorns’.

Although this book features 26 full-color illustrations, it is not a children’s storybook but a collection of wildly creative ‘myths’ for our day arising out of an unusual time and with much to say to us today. The original folklore themes running through the tales like a bright thread connect the old with the new, art with story. Myths in Isolation is a book for our time and a book for all times, as all the best folk tale books always are.