A telling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Rose Elf" (Part I)

Here's Part I of my telling of Hans Christian Andersen's The Rose Elf. You can listen and watch, or just listen. Keep in mind that these are just practices for my own peace of mind to help me smooth out the process of storytelling and my research into fairy-tales... that being said, more to come, including Part II. I'm hoping that these videos will continue to improve as I continue! 

- F

Thoughts on Upcoming Fairy-Tales Presentation (May 2020) - includes a reading of Hans Christian Andersen's The Rose-Elf"

Getting ready for my presentation this upcoming May... wanted to share my thoughts on it. This video includes a reading of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Rose-Elf" which I found at HathiTrust

Picture from the text:

- F

P.S. Here's a picture of me from earlier in the day at work (now yesterday), when I was way less tired... :)

A Counterpoint to the Argument Against Fairy Tales (I)

"I’ve been asked in interviews, in classrooms and by audiences, if I think fairy tales are feminist. I think they are, but not by our modern definition of feminism. Traditional fairy tales were created long before any such notion existed, and I’d say they help women, rather than lift up women. They warn, rather than extol. They’re useful, which is a much older kind of feminism.

That said, there are many modern writers who’ve taken traditional fairy tales and made something more explicitly feminist of them, in part by simply subverting expectations. Angela Carter and Kelly Link come to mind, as does Helen Oyeyemi, Molly Gaudry, Kate Bernheimer, and Matt Bell. These writers aren’t creating explicitly feminist fairy tales in the way that, for example, the film Frozen does. Instead, they take a hard look at the problematic nature of the stories they’ve laid open, and give us new perspectives, new ways to see. Often their retellings are even darker than the originals, in part because they invite a modern, feminist gaze, while pulling back the curtain to reveal the appalling lack of options our protagonists are faced with. There are no levers or buttons; just modern readers, seeing clearly (and uncomfortably) the parallels between the lives of these protagonists and women in our own time."

Full essay from Amber Sparks: The Useful Wisdom of Fairy Tales: Because Sometimes the Wolf Shows Up Uninvited

- F 

Preview of my Fairy Tales & Folklore for Adults Presentation

- F

Three Projects Of Differing Natures

There are three ideas which I have been concerning myself with because I feel a strong necessity to either write about them, in essay form, or manifest them cohesively in some other way, creatively or artistically. Where this feeling comes from, or for what desire or outcome, I know not. At least not yet. 

The first concerns mental illness; my own. I would like to write an essay about my own experience/s with mental illness, and how it developed over time. However, time and time again I've attempted to prepare my mind for the endeavor of writing about it, but I am realizing that I'd like to do some real research. Get statistics. History. Other opinions from people who have this mental illness. Needless to say, I feel that my writing would benefit. The subject - the illness - I am coping with is a form of psychosis designated as schizo-affective depressive type. I have a few books to start with at home, and as I'm reading those I'm going to take notes, and at any spark of an idea to tie my essay together I will have pen and paper at hand. I will also include thoughts and notes on a recent all-day course I took via my job at the library. This course was sponsored by the National Institute of Mental Health and I received my certificate in Mental Health First Aid, which I think should be a required course every three years, much like CPR courses.

The second idea that has been floating about is my concern for my ancestry and culture. That would be the Philippine Islands; i.e. the Philippines, and the state of Puerto Rico. Because I feel "closer" to the previous, I intend to look into what literature is available from contemporary Filipinos and Filipino-Americans. I wouldn't be surprised if not one reading this knew that this month, October, is Filipino-American Heritage Month. How many Filipino-Americans write fiction each year? What is available? What are they writing about? As for biographies and memoirs, who is writing those? What is it about? What is the emotional geography of this immigrant group - my own - and how does it differ and compare to other immigrant groups today? What are its politics and sensitivities? Why I am so interested in this is because I am concerned about the lack of proper, or at least, understandable heritage here. It is not clear because these are lands with heavily colonized histories. What does the ethnic and cultural heritage look like - and how does this fit in to the United States and furthermore, the global world - today? What can be brought to the table in a way that isn't terribly politicized? 

The third idea is fairy-tales and folklore. I'm just going to dive in, swim in it, and see what comes up. 

I'll keep you posted.

Sincerely,

F