WITCH, WITCH!: Stories & Poems of Sorcery, Spells & Hocus-Pocus

With so many covens practicing successfully behind hard covers, you'd think anthologists would try to avoid duplication. But a number of these pieces can be found either in Hoke's Witches, Witches, Witches or in Hope-Simpson's Cavalcade of Witches: Seraillier's ""Suppose You Met a Witch?""; Wilde's ""Fisherman and His Soul""; Walter de la Mare's ""Ride-By-Nights""; the Grimms' ""Rapunzel""; and Baba Yaga (though in a different version). And ""The Young Witch-Horse"" is a New Jersey variant on the title story of The Witch's Bridle (p. 1238, J-426). What Shaw contributes to this familiar group is some witches with a nautical turn of mind--the Icelandic ""witch in the Stone Boat""; and two witches who practice their art from inside whales, his own ""Wellfleet Witch"" and Josef Berger's ""Ichabod, Crook-Jaw and the Witch."" He has also thrown some lines by Herrick and Ben Johnson and a few throwaway verses and light tales into the pot. A thinnish brew, with some incidental Yankee flavor.