Shows
For The WildStepping Into Wilder Form, 2025Hey For The Wild community, it’s Ayana. It’s been a minute. Life has been moving—fast, deep, and full. I’ve grown, and with that growth, a clearer sense of what I want to share with you has come into focus.After nearly a decade of digital episodes, I felt a longing—an ache to be in person, on the land, and heart to heart with our guests. That’s why you may have noticed we’ve slowed down on weekly releases. Instead, we’ve been on the road, spending sacred, unhurried time with people we l...2025-05-1404 min
Kalliope's Sanctum17. Of Fairytale Soup and Female Storytellers - Kitchen Table Talks with Nao Sims (Part 1)Brew a cup of tea and join me and my dear friend Nao Sims— women's sacred dance teacher and lifelong lover of old stories— as we discuss some of our late-night ideas about the rhythms of female myth-telling, why fairytales are kind of like soup-recipes, and why they were the only thing Nao wanted to read while she was pregnant. All while her little daughter sleeps on in the background!
This conversation is the first in a series we will be recording throughout the autumn, for you to listen to and ponder around your own hearths.
In the next episode, we w...2024-10-1842 min
For The WildSYLVIA V. LINSTEADT on The Motherline /363Tracing ancestry through the motherline, this week’s guest Sylvia V. Linsteadt introduces listeners to the world of matrilineal myth and wisdom. For Sylvia, story and myth are very much alive and can offer valuable insight especially as we consider what it means to inhabit a place. From stories of female monks, to the practical wisdom of weaving, to the veneration of The Virgin Mary, Sylvia reminds us of what it means to value the feminine. Throughout the episode, Sylvia and Ayana consider questions at the very foundation of our cultures. Win...2024-01-2456 min
Kalliope's Sanctum16. Swan Stories- A Conversation with Nao SimsIn this special, first ever interview-episode, I'm sharing a recent conversation between myself and my beloved friend Nao Sims—teacher of women's sacred dance for over 25 years, beekeeper, gardener, homesteader, mother, and lover of poetry and myth— as a celebration and announcement for our March 2nd & 3rd in-person workshop on Vancouver Island, Swan Stories, as well as Nao's Six Swans dance series running from January 22nd- February 26th 2024, which will include a writing workshop with me!
For more details on these offerings and to register, you can either email Nao directly at naoisobel@gmail.com or follow the link here —https...2024-01-161h 46
Rebel HeroinesBonus Episode-Interview with Kym DeynFollowing on from Episode 9, exploring the gods and men of Greek Myth, in this bonus episode I interview poet Kym Deyn about their poetry collection Dionysia, "two pieces of not-quite history: the death of Alexander the Great and Odysseus’ adventures during the Trojan war. Two men for whom the truth is as fluid as water, and they are trapped inside the stories told about them." I also review the second installment in Claire North's The Songs of Penelope Trilogy: House of Odysseus and a beautiful narrative poem about Ariadne and the Minotaur, Bull Poppy Star.Greek My...2023-11-2733 min
The Earth Keepers PodcastKeeping the Stories of the Land Alive with Sylvia LinsteadtIn this episode, I'm chatting with author, scholar of ancient history, and wildlife tracker Sylvia Linsteadt. Sylvia's work—both fiction and non-fiction—is rooted in myth, ecology, feminism & bioregionalism, and is devoted to broadening our human stories to include the voices of the living land. I worked with Sylvia a bit last summer as I was pulling all of the threads of Season 3 into a cohesive story and have also participated in some of her writing workshops, which I can highly recommend if you’d like to find a way to weave your shamanic journeys into t...2023-08-081h 25
Caravan of the HeartAsia Suler, Author of Mirrors in the Earth, Teacher, Earth Intuitive and Healing HerbalistIn this episode, we feel fortunate to be in the presence and companionship of Asia Suler, Author of Mirrors in the Earth: Reflections on Self-Healing from the Living World.She a healing herbalist and is the founder of One Willow Apothecaries, an Appalachian-grown company. She is an Earth-intuitive who helps people remember their gifts through educational experiences in herbalism, animism, ancestral healing and earth-centered personal growth.Join us as we find revelation in reflection!What is the burr in your fur? As invasive as they feel - they are here to help us heal.Sensitivity is a...2023-04-191h 09
The Time of the Feminine - A Global Sisterhood PodcastSylvia Linsteadt: Remembering Stories to Weave the World AnewEver since Sylvia was a little girl, she’s always read and written stories and was very drawn to old myths and ancient cultures, almost wanting to embody them through her writing as her way into them. For the longest time, she considered her writing fantasy, separated from her sense of embodied participation with the Earth and with life along with a fear to connect these two worlds. However, her writing became her intuitive channel as it opened her process and molded her 20s slowly as she studied animal tracking, wanting to reflect the land around her from a mo...2023-03-161h 00
Kalliope's Sanctum15. Tam Lin: A Traditional Scottish-English BalladPracticed, sung and recorded through the winter solstice, new moon and now the edge of Christmas, as the Virgin Mary swells with child and comes to the eve of birth, I offer into this moment of celestial light and earthly dark a faithful rendition of the old Scottish borderland folk ballad Tam Lin (Child Ballad 39), accompanied and mixed by my brother Simon Linsteadt on guitar.
You can read a full essay about our version of this song, it's musical history (with nods to Scottish folk singer Archie Fisher, as well as Frances Child himself) and reflections on the story itself...2022-12-2414 min
Kalliope's Sanctum14. Morning Star Woman & Ivan the Youngest SonMorning Star Woman & Ivan the Youngest Son is, in its original bones, my own telling of the Russian fairytale "The Maiden Tsar," as explored by Robert Bly and Marion Woodman in their book The Maiden King. I will admit, however, that I've taken it and run with it.
You will see flashes as far afield as the Fisher King of Arthurian legend, and admittedly a few further too. And you will see that its Maiden Tsar, its swan queen, became merged with my imaginings of Venus in her recent descent below the rim of the horizon, out of sight, in...2022-10-2240 min
A Wave Away with Waverly Davis24. Surrendering to the Creative Mystery with Sylvia V. Linsteadt Sylvia V. Linsteadt (she/her) is a novelist, poet, and student of ancient history. She is the author of the short story collection Our Lady of the Dark Country, two novels for young readers, The Wild Folk and The Wild Folk Rising, and the folktale cycle Tatterdemalion with painter Rima Staines. Her works of nonfiction include The Wonderments of the East Bay, and Lost Worlds of the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently working on a novel set in pre-historic Crete, and has a collection of short stories and poems called The Venus Year forthcoming this December. 2022-09-0855 min
Memoir Body, Healing Story with Janelle Hardy97: ENCORE: Sylvia Linsteadt, Ariadne and the Minotaur & thoughts on creativity and bodyIn this encore episode I'm sharing a conversation with Sylvia V. Linsteadt, a writer whose work—both fiction and non-fiction—is rooted in myth, ecology, feminism & bioregionalism, and is devoted to broadening our human stories to include the voices of the living land. She lives in the bishop pine forest on a peninsula called Point Reyes, which has at various times been an island in the Pacific, but which is currently attached to North America along a volatile fault line called the San Andreas, and on the Greek island of Crete, another land prone to earthquake and myste...2022-07-011h 17
Kalliope's Sanctum13. The Dark Country - Part 4This is the fourth and final part of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. See Episode 11 for part one.
I am sharing the full novella in four parts over the spring & summer seasons. May these words be seeds in this time, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you.
Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country.
www.ptreyesbooks...2021-06-1147 minKalliope's Sanctum12. The Dark Country- Part 3This is part three of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. See Episode 11 for part one.
I am sharing the full novella in four parts over the spring & summer seasons. May these words be seeds in this time, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you.
Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country.
www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606
PODCAST...2021-06-031h 04Kalliope's Sanctum11. The Dark Country - Part 2This is part two of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire. See Episode 11 for part one.
I am sharing the full novella in four or five parts over the spring season. May these words be seeds in this time, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you.
Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country.
www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606
...2021-03-1858 minKalliope's Sanctum10. The Dark Country - Part 1This is part one of my novella The Dark Country, set on the imagined, Greek-inspired island of Kefthyra. In it, a maiden, mother and crone call forth the old language, and the snakes that live in the Earth, to try to overthrow a colonial empire.
I will be sharing the full novella in four or five parts over the coming weeks. May these words be seeds in this season, rising Earth's old language, and justice, through each of you.
Read the full novella in my collection Our Lady of the Dark Country.
www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606
PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon...2021-02-171h 08
Kalliope's Sanctum9. CalypsoIn this episode I explore the story of Calypso, the nereid daughter of sea-Titans who is infamous for seducing Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey. Here, Calypso gives a different perspective. Here, we see Calypso as a keeper of her lineage's ancestral traditions of seeing and healing, as the powerful keeper of secrets, as a font of wildness and of earthen truth. I wrote this story at the end of April 2019 in Crete, not realizing that its themes of veiling and unveiling, of Apocalypse, would feel so terribly powerfully relevant a year and a few months later. I hope that Calypso's fierce...2020-08-0830 minKalliope's Sanctum8. The PythiaIn this episode, I read the short story "The Pythia," from Our Lady of the Dark Country, my 2018 collection. This tale explores the underpinnings of the myth of Apollo and his takeover of the oracle at Delphi. In the oldest stories, Delphi belongs not to Apollo but to oracular and dreaming women who spoke to the Python in the Earth— the child of Ge. Gaia. Earth. Before Apollo, Delphi belonged to Ge, the goddess of Earth, who is, of course far far older than any Olympian gods. This story is told from the point of view of one of the Py...2020-05-0535 minKalliope's Sanctum7. Ashes, and the King Who Came Home"Ashes, and the King Who Came Home," is a short prose-poem-tale, written last August 2019 (and first shared on my Patreon https://www.patreon.com/sylvialinsteadt). It is a reflection and weaving of many threads, both personal and mythic, that were pressing strongly on my psyche at the time. It is about the great wound to the masculine in our culture, and a poetic dream-exploration of its roots; a tragedy that is so deep sometimes it is hard for me to speak about, for it makes me weep. I use The Handless Maiden fairytale as a frame in this story, as...2020-04-1723 minKalliope's Sanctum6. The GardenThis episode of Kalliope's Sanctum is a reading of my story The Garden, from my 2018 collection, Our Lady of the Dark Country. It was inspired partly by one of Rilke's Sonnets to Orpheus, which I read in the introduction, and partly by the truly enchanted garden of my dear friend Nao who lives on Vancouver Island, and is a beekeeper, dance teacher, keeps a B&B cottage, and tends the extraordinary flowers & vegetables of Honey Grove.
PODCAST ART: Catherine Sieck
PODCAST MUSIC: Giannis Linardakis (Cretan lute, traditional)
PODCAST SOUND EDITING: Simon Linsteadt
ABOUT THE PODCAST:
Welcome to Kalliope's Sanctum, a...2020-03-3127 minKalliope's Sanctum5. The Nunnery & the QueenThis week, I wanted to offer a space of respite, of nourishment, and of comfort in these wildly unknowable, difficult, but profound times. So the Nunnery of Iona came to me, coupled with a sister poem, The Queen of Moss & Green, both of which I wrote during my time in the Scottish highlands and Hebrides this past August of 2019. I hope these words bring you deeper into the sanctuary of your body and of the Earth right where you are, today, into the wellspring of tenderness that is there when we ask, and listen. I also hope they bring you...2020-03-2121 minKalliope's Sanctum4. Rhea Silvia - Part 2This episode is Part 2 of a two part reading of my short story, "Rhea Silvia," from my January 2018 story & poem collection Our Lady of the Dark Country (https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606).
Please listen to Part 1, the previous episode, before Part 2, or it won't make much sense! :)
This is a retelling of the tale of Rhea Silvia, the so-called mother of Rome— mother of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were later suckled by a wolf, and who founded that great and terrible city, which paved the way for so much of the imperialism that we still live within the st...2020-03-0645 minKalliope's Sanctum3. Rhea Silvia- Part 1This episode is Part 1 of a two part reading of my short story, "Rhea Silvia," from my January 2018 collection Our Lady of the Dark Country. (https://www.ptreyesbooks.com/book/9780999696606)
It is a retelling of the tale of Rhea Silvia, the so-called mother of Rome— mother of Romulus and Remus, twin brothers who were later suckled by a wolf, and who founded that great and terrible city, which paved the way for so much of the imperialism that we still live within the story of.
In this telling, I try to dig beneath imperial Rome, exploring some of the last tr...2020-02-1450 min
Kalliope's Sanctum2. Andromeda's DragonsIn this episode, I explore the ancient Greek story of Cassiopeia and Andromeda (Queen & Princess of a mythic "Aethiopia"), with a brief opening musing about Our Lady (Divine Mother, Mary, etc), the constellation Cassiopeia (that great M in the northern sky), and the roots of this story with the Babylonian sea-dragon, Tiamat, mother of the world.
Storytelling begins at 17:30
** Books & people mentioned in this episode **
The Way of the Rose
By Clark Strand & Perdita Finn
https://wayoftherose.org/
Vandana Shiva, Indian scientist, environmental activist & food sovereignty advocate (recommended reading, Who Really Feeds the World?)
Star Names, Their Lore & Meaning
By...2020-01-2649 min
Kalliope's Sanctum1. Kalliope, The MuseWelcome to the inaugural episode of Kalliope's Sanctum! In this episode, I begin with a poetic imagining of Kalliope's story, the one before she was ever Muse on Mount Olympus, and also after, now, as we liberate her back to her own ground of being, where she began.
I introduce the episode with a few notes about her mythic context, but the story-poem itself begins at 9:58.
In the notes, I mention an upcoming opportunity to hear the ecstatic music of Crete live, in my house in California, on February 29th 2020. See more here! https://www.zygiamusic.com/ (Note that the...2020-01-0821 min
Personal Mythmaking with Janelle Hardy (formerly the Wild Elixir Podcast)66: Ariadne and the Minotaur + Sylvia LinsteadtSylvia V. Linsteadt is a writer and her work—both fiction and non-fiction—is rooted in myth, ecology, feminism & bioregionalism, and is devoted to broadening our human stories to include the voices of the living land. Enjoy our ramble through the Greek myth of Ariadne and the Minotaur as well as Sylvia’s relationship with her body and creativity. This is an entirely self-produced podcast. If you appreciate the Personal Mythmaking podcast, please support the show at: www.patreon.com/janellehardy Connect with Sylvia: www.sylvialinsteadt.com Connect with Janelle: www.janelle...2019-11-041h 22
Belonging: Conversations about rites of passage, meaningful community, and seasonal living34. Another Way of Knowing with Sylvia LinsteadtI’m so pleased to be sharing a conversation on the Belonging podcast with one of my all-time favorite writers, Sylvia Linsteadt.Sylvia's words have been a deep salve to my heart and sense of wonderment in this work of re-enchantment with the wild. She has such a deep understanding of the living land, a term I really appreciate. Because for so much of my life, I couldn’t see nature as alive and living. And, if I did, I would often feel scared.In my work of reconnecting to the land, Sylvia’s writing has been a boon of courag...2019-08-261h 09
Books, Beards, BoozeJuly Short Reads!The gang goes deep on this months free to read short stories! Here are the links so you can enjoy them as well:Whale-Oil by Sylvia V. LinsteadtBlack, Like Earth by Jordyn Blanson2019-07-3135 min
Beneath Ceaseless Skies Audio Fiction PodcastsBCS 174: Whale-OilBy Sylvia V. Linsteadt, from Issue #198 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies Online MagazineNarrated by Michael J. DeLuca.Altair stood at the edge of the bay holding a blue salmon oil lamp with wick and flame made of fallen stars.More info »2016-04-2828 min.png)
Story Makers ShowEpisode 19: Sylvia LinsteadtWhat do animal tracking and writing have in common? More than you think, as we learn in conversation with Sylvia Lindsteadt, a prolific young author of fiction and non-fiction and a certified animal tracker.2016-02-1849 min