Cover of The Faery Flag by Jane Yolen

Faery Flag, The

Stories and Poems of Fantasy and the Supernatural
Orchard 1989
ISBN# 0-531-05838-7 Orchard hardcover

The stories and poems in this collection include eleven years worth of material. Stories vary from the Celtic retelling/restructuring of the title story (which I first learned about when we visited Dunvegan castle on the Isle of Skye) to the original art tale “The Face in the Cloth” written for my daughter, to the parable “The Singer of Seeds.” Trina Schart Hyman did the jacket and a black and white ornament. The jacket art was her first attempt at oil painting

Accolades:

  • Chosen for the “Remarkables”/Honors list by Parents’ Choice Magazine.

What reviewers have said:

  • *STARRED REVIEW* “Yolen’s collection begins with a poem which celebrates storytelling in a series of evocative images…The stories resonate with deeply felt emotions of love, hatred, wonder, terror, and a particular haunting quality which is Yolen’s own.” — School Library Journal starred review
  • “…the words ‘lovely, lovely, lovely’ sprang unbidden to my mind…Yolen’s charm, is ubiquitous. It is a product of a spirit unafraid to handle the bloody flags of menstruation, cannibalism, miscegenation; of a heart able to look from and beyond every angle of the common, a mind willing to exercise the most exquisite care on every detail with nothing, as Yeats would say, “gone astray.” Her book is most highly recommended for all ages.” — Science Fiction and Fantasy Book Review Annual
  • “Yolen is often at her best in these nine stories and six poems, which range in tone from traditional to eerie to humorous.” — The Bulletin
  • “The rhythmic voice in this collection of nine stories and six poems is unmistakably that of a master storyteller and poet…The works are varied and polished.” — Publisher’s Weekly
  • “The nine stories and six poems have been drawn from the author’s rich imagination and are a well-matched fusing of folklore and fantasy. –Horn Book
  • “Readers will find themselves contemplating these stories long after the book is finished.” — VOYA
  • “A fine miscellany from a gifted storyteller.” — Kirkus

Recording:

  • “Beauty and the Beast: An Anniversary” from THE FAERY FLAG in June Tabor’s “Against the Streams”.