A Legacy of Druids: Conversations with Druid leaders of Britain, the USA and Canada, past and present

A Legacy of Druids: Conversations with Druid leaders of Britain, the USA and Canada, Ellen Evert Hopman, Moon Books. Well-known Druid Ellen Evert Hopman’s most recent offering is a collection of clever interviews she’s conducted with some of the preeminent scholars, practitioners, artists and musicians connected to the modern Druidic faith and its legacy. It certainly fulfills its criterion as a series of conversations - the book is easy reading and rather engaging, and in many instances feels as if you’re sitting at a table with the author and her chosen interviewee sipping hot beverages. Her choice of questions, though usually all starting at a basic origin query, divert into some interesting, detailed, and at times surprising territory. It’s all rather affable, but minor disagreements about philosophy and practice still crop up within - sometimes seemingly out of nowhere - and it’s fun to watch the sparks fly politely on the page.

Interestingly, all of the interviews appear to have occurred during the year 1996, so the book acts as much as an anthropological study as it does a snapshot in time. Each interview shows in many ways not only just how forward-thinking and optimistic things were two decades ago, but considering the topics in question, just how timeless the shared experience of nature’s power can truly be. Well worth a spot on the shelf.