The Fisherman and the Businessman Revisited: Neglected History and Interpretations of a Trendy Parable (opens in new tab)

Coelho was certainly right to think that that ‘classic Brazilian story’ was ‘also present in other cultures’. I think of Adela Peeva’s documentary Whose Is This Song?, exploring the history of one popular Balkan folk song and the emotional claims of authorship and ownership of it made by laypeople and musicologists alike in just about every country in the region. I would be fascinated to know more about the genealogy of the story of the fisherman and the businessman, and I’m sure there is far...