Back in print from Purple House Press. The opera cycle, The Ring of the Nibelung, by Richard Wagner, stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history of music. Wagner based his Ring cycle on tales from Norse and German mythology after studying ancient legends of gods, demigods, and earthly beings. He spent years writing and shaping his material, the result was an epic story, heroic and exalted, told through his stirring music. Clyde Robert Bulla tells the stories that make up The Ring of the Nibelung cycle: The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, Siegfried, The Dusk of the Gods. Magical and mysterious, they are larger than life, yet based on human emotions. He brings Wagner’s epic tale of love, hate, greed, and goodness, to life simply but dramatically. Bulla includes musical themes from the four operas, and writes of Wagner’s life and his struggles to break with tradition, creating a new form of opera—the music drama. Readers who love lore and legends, and readers who admire Wagner’s music will welcome the simple beauty of Bulla’s powerful tales. Strikingly illustrated with woodcuts by Clare and John Ross.
Author
Born to be a Writer Almost as far back as he can remember, Clyde Robert Bulla wanted to write. Born on a farm in a small town in Missouri, Mr. Bulla's first school was a one-room country schoolhouse. One day his teacher asked each first grade student what he or she would do with a thousand dollars. Young Clyde answered that he would buy a table. His classmates laughed heartily, and his teacher was puzzled. “What I really meant,” says Mr. Bulla, “is a desk or other flat surface on which to write my stories!” First Stories Mr. Bulla's first piece of writing was titled, “How Planets Were Born.” The ambitious opening sentence was, “One night old Mother Moon had a million babies.” All through school, Mr. Bulla continued to write stories mostly, but plays and poetry, too. After years of gathering editor's rejection slips, Mr. Bulla sold a magazine story, then several more. Soon after, Mr. Bulla wrote a novel and a publisher accepted it. The Difficult Years In the excitement of publishing a novel, Mr. Bulla wrote two more books. Unfortunately, no one wanted to publish them. His luck took a turn for the worse when the publisher of his first book went bankrupt. For several years, he worked at a local weekly newspaper where he struggled with linotype, kept books, collected bills, and wrote a weekly column. Success! A couple of Mr. Bulla's weekly columns caught the attention of a well-known author and illustrator of children's books. She wrote to Mr. Bulla, suggesting that he try writing a children's book. He immediately sent her a manuscript for a children's book he'd written a year before. Within one week, an editor of a New York publisher read the manuscript,and it was accepted. The book was The Donkey Cart, published in 1946. Since then, Mr. Bulla has written over twenty books for children, as well as the music for several children's song books. About The Chalk Box Kid “When I was young,” explains Mr. Bulla, “I sometimes found it hard to cope in new surroundings, and I was apt to get off on the wrong foot. This is the story of a boy who got off on the wrong foot in a new school and how he tried to cope.” In describing the chalk garden, Mr. Bulla says, “I gave Gregory something I've always wished for: a big, blank wall that I could cover with my own drawings.”
