134: FOLKLORISTS: Sara & Brittany of Carterhaugh School on The Six Swans, being delighted, friendship and forging your own path

Memoir Body, Healing Story with Janelle Hardy

Dr. Sara Cleto, from Atlanta, Georgia, and Dr. Brittany Warman, from Warrenton, Virginia, are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers.

As if that’s not enough, they founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic in 2016, where they teach creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales.

Click, click, click. As usual, I found Sara and Brittany because I’m insatiably curious and am also deeply devoted to procrastination and avoidance of whatever I ‘should’ be doing by doing ‘research’ instead.

This ‘research’ looks like virtuous ‘prep’ for programs that are already set up. So, confession over, I simply enjoy exploring ideas and people out there in the world, and the internet makes it outrageously easy to waste time indulging in my curiosity.

In this case, I’m grateful. Sara and Brittany are fellow story-lovers and kindred spirits, and as eclectically curious and entrepreneurial as me. Here’s a little more about them and their school:

They both earned their PhDs in English and Folklore from The Ohio State University in 2018 and their MAs from George Mason University in 2012, two of the best folklore programs in the US, and together they have a combined 26 years in higher education and over three dozen publications.

In 2019, The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic received the Dorothy Howard Prize from the Folklore and Education Section of the American Folklore Society, an award that honors those who “us[e] folklore in educational settings in rich and meaningful ways […] both within and outside the classroom” - they praised Carterhaugh as “a folk school for the digital age.” An online center for classes on topics like fairy tales, legends, and more, Carterhaugh is also a community of people who love the magic of folklore.

Together, Sara and Brittany have authored over three dozen publications - non-fiction, fiction, and poetry - in such venues as Marvels & Tales: Journal of Fairy-Tale Studies, Gramarye, Uncanny Magazine, Enchanted Living, Mythic Delirium, and many more.

They’re also devoted cat minions, gif masters, obsessed with chai, and 100% B.F.F.s of more than a decade. They love red lipstick, decadent Gothic novels, and totally crush “Total Eclipse of the Heart” at karaoke.

It was so lovely to connect with Sara and Brittany, and I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy listening in.

• Website: http://www.carterhaughschool.com
• Freebie: https://carterhaughschool.com/carterhaugh-folk-magic/
• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/carterhaughschool