Ruth Finnegan gives us an “intellectual account” of her stunningly varied and impressive career in her publication Ruth Finnegan Anthropologist. The reader is immediately taken aback by the sheer depth and breadth of her published works, ranging from academic discourses on oral literature in Africa...

Wow! I just finished reading Black Inked Pearl: A Girl's Quest by author Ruth Finnegan, and all I can say is "Wow!" It's written in a unique and creative style, one that at times blends poetry with prose. Follow the story of Kate, a girl...

In a highly interesting and well done book in the category of cultural nonfiction, Why Do We Quote? The Near and Far of Others' Words and Voices by author Ruth Finnegan is a worthwhile read. Pulling from anthropology, cultural history, folklore, cultural studies, socio-linguistics, literary...

The Travels and Travails of Music by Ruth Finnegan is aptly summarized in the sub-title: A tale of music, culture, and radio in the South Seas. I first came across this author when I read her scholarly and insightful work, Communicating: The Multiple Modes of...

Music – what is it? Why is it so ingrained into our society? How does it exist above and beyond and within sound itself? And is it more than words spoken, even poetry? So many questions about something that so many of us take for...

Quotation is not something to which most people give much thought, but it is amazingly pervasive across many aspects of our lives. Why Do We Quote? The Culture and History of Quotation by Ruth Finnegan is a marvelously in depth look at what quotation is,...

Where is Language?: An Anthropologist's Questions on Language, Literature and Performance by Ruth Finnegan is a book on language and how it is used in the common world. It may sound boring to you, but if you have read Why Do We Quote by Finnegan,...

I am an American. To be more precise and more politically correct, I am an African-American. For the most part, this is just a phrase or term that someone else made popular and now most of us use. In truth, I know very little about...

Kate's Black Ink Poems by Ruth Finnegan is a linguistic and emotional exercise in understanding life's complexities. Evoking a dreamlike imagery - perhaps evidence of where these poems and stories originated - the flowing, yet touching poems create very real snapshots of life. Kate is...

The Heavenly Rocker: The Angel’s Little Sister Plays Merry Heaven and Hell by Ruth Finnegan is a delightful short story that reads more like a poem or, better yet, a Shakespearean sonnet. As Ms. Finnegan describes, the story of the Angel’s little sister descending to...

A charming story of adventure between two children, and an unexpected union is developed. The adventure commences as the children engage in building a boat, with Holly, their dog. The story builds chapter by chapter, adding to the adventure, with a rhyming style woven into...

Communicating: The Multiple Modes of Human Communication by Ruth Finnegan is a non-fiction book about the way we communicate with one another. Human communication and interaction is a fascinating topic, and Finnegan covers it well. She suggests that communication is not limited to words...

Entrancement: The Consciousness of Dreaming, Music and the World by Ruth Finnegan is a book that explores dreams and many other forms of consciousness, and how these interact with our dreams. In this diverse and amazingly well-crafted book, Ruth Finnegan is talking about states of...

Voyage of Pearl of the Seas: A fairytale prequel to Black Inked Pearl by Ruth Finnegan is an adventure story with fantastical experiences that will take readers on a journey of mystery, magic, and wisdom. Kate, Chris, and Holly, the dog, are having fun and...

While it has been believed for many years that the role of sound and human auditory resources are insignificant to human intelligence and how people communicate, Ruth Finnegan, a senior British anthropologist, proves this perception wrong in her profound book, Music and Creation: In Search...

Whales and Magic: Sinbad the Sailor’s First Voyage, the other Odyssey Book 1 is a mythological adventure tale for children written by Ruth Finnegan and illustrated by Kevin Nara. A poor porter was sitting outside a wealthy merchant’s house one day, and he wondered aloud...

Time for the World to Learn From Africa: Hearing Others’ Voices is a work of educational non-fiction intended for students and young people, penned by author and academic Ruth Finnegan. Taking a break from her scholarly work, Finnegan delves deep into the heritage, culture, art...

The Helix Pearl: The Story of the Winedark Garrulous Sea – A Tale of Love and Daring by Ruth Finnegan is the story of Kate as she navigates her life on and off the tumultuous sea and realizes there is more to life than she...

Ruth Finnegan's The Lady and the Dragon: A Tale of Despairing and Creation is the story of a journey from depression and loneliness to a new and positive condition. The protagonist of this book is as extraordinary as the tale itself - a dragon. Yet,...