MYTH & LORE #2 - FUNGUS AMONG US

TITLE - MYTH & LORE #2 - FUNGUS AMONG US 

EDITED BY - GEIST

GENRE - FOLKLORE / WITHCRAFT / MUSHROOMS / FORAGING / ART & POETRY

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN - UNITED KINGDOM 

A5/100 PAGES/BLACK & WHITE/PERFECT-BOUND 

PRICE - £8.00 + SHIPPING [SOLD OUT AT TIME OF WRITING] FROM GEIST ART

Darwin's Fungus may sound like the best prog band ever, but it is in fact, along with stinkhorns and shaggy caps, one of the myriad of mushroom varieties explored in the 'shroom-tastic second issue of "Myth & Lore". Subtitled "Fungus Among Us", it is a celebration of the mysterious mushroom and all of its often misunderstood properties and powers. If you've read issue 1, which was a "Cryptids of the United Kingdom" special, then issue 2 offers more of the same - vivid poetry and art, spooky stories and interviews with folky creatives.

KNOW YOUR SHROOMS

"Fungus Among Us" is a veritably stuffed offering - the contributor list runs for six pages!. Over approximately 100 pages, there are full-page guides to several varieties of mushroom with a short caption and a knowing wink to the often unpleasant characteristics of fungi, from scents like rotting flesh to red alien tentacles! If this gets you feeling a bit peckish, you can have a go at making Philippa Tomlin's recipe for oven-baked mushroom risotto. Fiction fans can enjoy the highly original short stories in the fantasy/horror genre with a fungi feel, and among the articles, Andrew Purvis introduces us to the mind-expanding musical work of artist Heidi Kenyon, who has created a piece of music that aims to harmonise with the natural world using field recordings and sounds extracted from mushrooms themselves. You can hear the piece via the QR code included in the zine. there's also an interview with the mushroom-based band The Octopus Project. A special mention must be made of the poetry featured in issue 2, which is earthy, visceral and stunning throughout, including a poem by notable zine editor Terra Silvanus of "Grimoire Silvanus" fame. My favourite is "Fungus Friends" by Ami Clement which tells of the jolly consequences of leaving button mushrooms in the fridge for too long.

Production values are high with tightly-bound, glossy black pages and crisp printing. There is original art and some photography and a positive, fun vibe throughout. Issue 2 also comes with a free A5  print. Contributions come from a diverse arena and the whole zine promotes a safe space for everyone to have folky fun. Although a relatively new title, "Myth & Lore" is fast becoming a zine that needs to be snapped up as soon as it's available, because both issues are out of print as I write this - "don't sleep on this one", as the trendy people say!