By Lyn Hillman
Author Robert M. Sarwark
The Dragon in World Mythology and Culture by Robert M. Sarwark
Grant Park resident Robert M. Sarwark has published The Dragon in World Mythology and Culture (McFarland & Co.), an extensive and informative look at dragon myths and legends around the world.
Sarwark became interested in this topic from reading medieval-era manuscripts while taking a course on rare books and manuscripts at the University of Illinois’ Graduate School of Library and Information Science (now the School of Information Sciences or iSchool). One of the manuscripts contained brilliantly colored, hand-painted illustrations, including one depicting a Christian saint being consumed by a dragon while also emerging from the creature’s stomach. When Sarwark wondered if people in medieval Europe believed that dragons were actually real, his professor encouraged him to use this question as the topic for a reaearch paper. After determining that people at that time actually did believe in the existence of dragons, writing the paper then prompted Sarwark to spend the next few years writing a book on the subject.
The Dragon in World Mythology and Culture is a thoroughly researched study of the dragon across diverse time periods and cultures around the world including Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and North and South America. The book contains illustrations of various incarnations of the dragon and other mythological creatures including a mural at a monastery in Ethiopia depicting St. George slaying a dragon and a statue of Godzilla (Gojira in the original Japanese) in Tokyo.
The book is divided into three parts, taking the reader through the chronological progression of dragon mythology around the world and through the centuries. Part I introduces the reader to the origins of the dragon as depicted in the myths that emerged in various cultures. Part II discusses dragons in both Western and Eastern folklore, literate, and pop culture. Part III presents the dragons of today and speculates on what they may become in the future.
While the book contains extensive academic anthropological research, it presents the information in a very approachable manner that will appeal to anyone with an interest in world mythology. Sarwark effectively depicts the dragon as “the storyteller’s choice as an essential vector of power, wonder, terror, and awe.”
Scan the QR code or navigate to https://bit.ly/476L3n3 to order your copy.
Sarwark is the Grant Park neighborhood editor for The Porch Press.
