All four of your points are spot-on. Fairy tales and storytelling are so important. I'm excited to see where your poem goes (it reads like a medieval sort of epic, so the sort where one can prepare and settle in for a tale).
James, I loved reading your comments and then your beautiful prose piece on the Crafty Huntsman pt. 1. I have always been a reader and so, of course, I became a teacher and a dad and a grandpa. The world of the imagination, and how books can unlock limitless potential in all of us, is the stuff of serious discussion. In my school, we carefully picked only the best and most diverse books to feed to our elementary school aged children, and they ate and thrived on it. All the book-banning that's going on worries me. Happily, there are people like you stimulating and keeping us thinking. Thank you.
Thank you, Sandy, I really appreciate that. What worries me a little more—perhaps because it's so subtle—is apathy and ignorance. It saddens me to see not only stories but storytelling go ignored in favor of, say, 15-second videos. I'm hoping younger generations are getting tired of the lack of substance and go searching for things more meaningful.
James, I read to the children at Barnes and Noble once a month and there are a lot of kids who still love to sit and listen to stories. Thank goodness.
That’s excellent, Sandy, way to go. We read to our daughter daily. Well, most of the time we share the reading of a story she picks out. And as long as she lives with us she’s going to have to be reading stories of her own choosing. So far, thankfully, this hasn’t been difficult.
The world 'beyond the fields we know' as Lord Dunsany put it. Poetry and mystery and faerie and us, all entwined. I love this beginning of a modern retelling of a story that always spoke to me.
Thanks, Thomas! I’d take credit, but the form belongs to The Gawain Poet, whoever he or she may have been. I love that poem, and so this project is a bit of a nod to that one as well.
Thanks, MJ! It's careful going as I want it to be a version that's relevant today, but still retains the lessons and emotional connections of the original. (Here's hoping I don't lose those.)
Agree on all points. I think of C. S. Lewis’s thoughts on fairy tales to his god daughter, “But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. I think our imaginations are a gift and we need to dream again as children. Our culture needs a reintegration of wonder. Beautifully said, James.
Thank you, Brit, and yeah, thank goodness we have Lewis and others to remind us of such things. Reintegration of wonder is exactly what I'm hoping for in the near future. I see a lot of folks giving it a serious go and it's keeping me optimistic.
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Great thoughts on fairy tales, story, poetry, mystery and comebacks and what they mean. Great lines and verse at the end. I especially love the conclusion.
All four of your points are spot-on. Fairy tales and storytelling are so important. I'm excited to see where your poem goes (it reads like a medieval sort of epic, so the sort where one can prepare and settle in for a tale).
Thank you, that’s a high compliment! I’m nicking a form used by a writer from that time, so that entirely makes sense. Going to do my best with it!
I vote firmly for all four.
Absolutely the same. Here's hoping they get their chance.
James, I loved reading your comments and then your beautiful prose piece on the Crafty Huntsman pt. 1. I have always been a reader and so, of course, I became a teacher and a dad and a grandpa. The world of the imagination, and how books can unlock limitless potential in all of us, is the stuff of serious discussion. In my school, we carefully picked only the best and most diverse books to feed to our elementary school aged children, and they ate and thrived on it. All the book-banning that's going on worries me. Happily, there are people like you stimulating and keeping us thinking. Thank you.
Thank you, Sandy, I really appreciate that. What worries me a little more—perhaps because it's so subtle—is apathy and ignorance. It saddens me to see not only stories but storytelling go ignored in favor of, say, 15-second videos. I'm hoping younger generations are getting tired of the lack of substance and go searching for things more meaningful.
James, I read to the children at Barnes and Noble once a month and there are a lot of kids who still love to sit and listen to stories. Thank goodness.
That’s excellent, Sandy, way to go. We read to our daughter daily. Well, most of the time we share the reading of a story she picks out. And as long as she lives with us she’s going to have to be reading stories of her own choosing. So far, thankfully, this hasn’t been difficult.
The world 'beyond the fields we know' as Lord Dunsany put it. Poetry and mystery and faerie and us, all entwined. I love this beginning of a modern retelling of a story that always spoke to me.
Glad you like it, Marian! Trying to follow in yours and others’ footsteps with worthwhile serial poems.
And it was your poem that made me realize I could resurrect my Beowulf project!
That's so cool! I'm so glad this platform helps us help one another. :)
I love the shift in metre for the last four lines...definitely left us on a cliffhanger! I'm so down for this. 🤘
Thanks, Thomas! I’d take credit, but the form belongs to The Gawain Poet, whoever he or she may have been. I love that poem, and so this project is a bit of a nod to that one as well.
I'm here for this! Great idea, great execution, let me get some popcorn.
Thanks a ton, Mark! Really hoping I disappoint neither myself nor any of you all.
I really like this. I'm looking forward to seeing what comes next.
Thanks, MJ! It's careful going as I want it to be a version that's relevant today, but still retains the lessons and emotional connections of the original. (Here's hoping I don't lose those.)
Agree on all points. I think of C. S. Lewis’s thoughts on fairy tales to his god daughter, “But some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again. I think our imaginations are a gift and we need to dream again as children. Our culture needs a reintegration of wonder. Beautifully said, James.
Thank you, Brit, and yeah, thank goodness we have Lewis and others to remind us of such things. Reintegration of wonder is exactly what I'm hoping for in the near future. I see a lot of folks giving it a serious go and it's keeping me optimistic.
Consider me invested in this project already!
Hooray! I hope you enjoy it!
I thoroughly enjoyed this. Great thoughts on fairy tales, story, poetry, mystery and comebacks and what they mean. Great lines and verse at the end. I especially love the conclusion.
Thanks, man. It's going to get a little weird from this point on, but hey, that's where all the fun is.