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BOOKS - LAURA ANNAWYN SHAMAS, Ph.D.

"We Three": The Mythology of Shakespeare's Weird Sisters
by Laura Shamas
Publication Date: 2007. Peter Lang USA.
ISBN-13: 978-0-8204-7933-0. www.peterlang.com.

From the cover: "The Weird Sisters, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, are arguably the most famous trio of witches in English literature. Shakespeare's Weird Sisters are a complex trinitarian mythological construction--a unique amalgamation of classical, folkloric, and socio-political elements. This book is an archetypal exploration of the Weird Sisters. By examining this feminine trio through the lens of mythology, new insights about their significance may be understood. The ramifications extend from classical comprehension to twenty-first century pop culture observations related to female trios."

"Excellently researched...This creative weaving of the mythological heritage is unique to Shakespeare. It suggests that the politics of Macbeth is more mysterious than other scholars have perceived...A highly persuasive second chapter explores the triangulations of Macbeth and of feminine archetypes in literature...In a daring argument, Shamas excavates the maternal resonance of the witches...Another very valuable aspect of this book is in the amplification of the theme of the weird sisters into other myths, fairytales, and later literature...Laura Shamas is to be congratulated for giving to Shakespeare's most dramatically powerful creatures of darkness their proper place as guardians of the 'weyward path' to the Other...'We Three' is now an indispensable resource for that most spell-binding of plays."
- Susan Rowland, book review, Spring Journal, Volume 78 (Fall 2007, pages 377-379)

“It’s not a big secret, but it might not have gotten around too well until now: one of the greatest authors in the field of fantasy is William Shakespeare...Shakespeare’s plays typically take place in never-never-worlds, abounding with metamorphosis and wondrous events, populated by elves, goblins, specters, wizards and witches...Who are the three witches, who provide the play with a truly dramatic opening and appear on stage several more times, accompanied occasionally by some kind of chief witch, Hecate?...The respective answers of four centuries’ Shakespearean researchers are abundant; but no one has ever dedicated a whole book to these most scandalous of all minor characters. The one to change this situation was the American dramatist and 'cultural mythologist' Laura Shamas...The lesson is clear: whoever dares to deal with mythological interpretations must envisage that everything is related to everything. You can deem this to be confusing or fatiguing or fascinating; but it definitely demonstrates that the means people use in order to comprehend their own situation in the world are complex and antithetic like the conditio humana itself…Shamas completes her study with an outlook on the marks made by Shakespeare’s witches on the culture in the 20th century..."
– Dieter Petzold, book review, Inklings-Jahrbuch 25 (2007, originally published in German), pages 357-360

"Laura Shamas's study is especially valuable because she brings to the same conversation the scholars of Shakespeare and those in mythology. Her analysis of Hecate, the archetypal witch, and the resurgence of Hecate's myth in the Weird Sisters is absolutely fascinating."
- Ginette Paris, Pagan Meditations

"Laura Shamas has stirred the witches' cauldron once again! The magic of the weird sisters comes to life wondrously in this most remarkable brew of history, folktale, mythology, psychology, contemporary cultural criticism, and the phenomenology of the meaning of 'threeness.' The reader will be spellbound by the prehistory and archetypal sources of Shakespeare's famous witches. The drama of female threesomes is illuminating in the extreme!"
- David L. Miller, Three Faces of God

Playwriting for Theater, Film and Television
by Laura Shamas
Betterway Books, 1991. ISBN-13: 978-15588702134

From School Library Journal:
"YA--A step-by step how-to for playwriting, this is a readable guide. In a no-nonsense but good-humored fashion, Shamas not only outlines how to write plays or screenplays, but also provides valuable contest, marketing, and publishing information for beginners."
- Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:
"This unusual and exemplary manual focuses on the process of writing one's own play. Most books of this ilk give innumerable pages to plot points, action curves, and formal presentation but little to the basic concerns of novice writers, such as outlining character and plot, filling in those outlines, and dealing with a case of writer's block. This book addresses all these concerns with clear instructions and exercises, providing a simple and warm discussion of the whole process. Classics in the field of screen writing, e.g., Edward Dmytryk's On Screen Writing (Focal Pr., 1985) or Syd Field's Screenplay (Dell, 1984. pap.) , concentrate on what the industry expects in form and content rather than on the more practical aspects of writing and marketing a play. Thus, this is a welcome addition to the classics: together they present a much fuller picture of the entire process."
- Robert Rayher, Sch . of the Art Inst. of Chicago Lib. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

© COPYRIGHT 2010 by Laura Annawyn Shamas. All rights reserved.