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Taking up the major philosophical and psychological concerns of the early-twentieth century¿over a decade before works by T.S. Eliot, James Joyce, and Virginia Woolf, among others, would cement literary Modernism's place in history¿The Crock of Gold is a groundbreaking and important work. The text centers on the Philosopher and his wife, the Thin Woman, who undergo a series of journeys and harrowing trials. Faced with danger both human and divine, the two characters are forced to weather the winds of change in order to change themselves. Divided into six books, The Crock of Gold¿no doubt inspired by the Irish oral tradition of storytelling¿follows the Philosopher's quest to save the most beautiful woman in the world; his encounter with the gods who have captured her; his return home and arrest for murder (he has been framed by leprechauns incensed at the loss of their crock of gold); and finally, the Thin Woman's quest to find the fabled Three Infinites.
About the author
James Stephens was born in Aotearoa New Zealand. He was a teacher, actor, musician and music director, a journalist and event manager - as well as a husband, father and grandfather. He was a voracious reader, a fluent writer and confident speaker. In 2015, he suffered a hemiparesis, a middle cerebral artery territory infarct. In a word, a stroke. He collapsed, paralysed on his right side, and couldn't speak or write. The hospital intervention was rapid and his limbs were free but his speech was absent. He had/has aphasia.Aphasia is the loss of a previously held ability to articulate ideas or comprehend spoken or written language, resulting from damage to the brain caused by injury or disease - in this case, a stroke. With expert therapists in speech, music and eurhythmy he has re-invented himself. He has a positive and optimistic outlook, electing to view his stroke as a 'stroke of luck'. But his speech is still - suspect."My aphasia forced me to look at my life differently. My expected biography has changed. Now, I am an author - apparently." email: james.stephens.dms@gmail.com¿facebook: https://bit.ly/3bH6kZr
