Magic and Fairy Tales

Fairies.

I remember unicorns and flying dogs and Hobbits and dancing tin men.

I remember aliens on flying bicycles, tiny green gurus, and David Bowie,

I remember Tinkerbell, dancing brooms, and psychedelic elephants.

I remember downtrodden princesses, knights in shining armor and evil stepmothers.

I remember Easter Bunnies, workshop elves, and teeth turned into silver dollars.

I remember sly foxes, cross-dressing wolves, and billy goats gruff.

I remember talking owls, roller skating bears, and crime fighting ninja turtles.

I remember sparkling lights, beautiful gowns, and ethereal singing.

I remember that flying is possible, transformation probable, and true love always winning.

I remember believing.

Photograph from the Lane Community College performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream April 2014

Another Escape

Tales.

There is a new edition of the Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm out that focuses less on translation and interpretation, although they are a lovely treatment of the stories, and more on the artwork that accompanies the stories. Editor Noel Daniel brought vintage fairy tale artwork from late 19th and early 20th century artists, each with their own unique vision, together into a new and amazing rendition of these stories. If it has been a while since you have read the Grimm fairy tales it is worth it to revisit them. The stories were never intended as children's tales, nor were they really intended to be anything at all. They were a collection of stories that already existed formed from collective fears and dangers. The Grimm's were cultural researchers interested in preservation of folklore and oral traditions, they traveled and listened, and wrote their own interpretations of old folk tales. While many of their stories are placed in a particular region or culture, what they found was that many of the characters and themes were cross-cultural, appearing over and over again in tales from all kinds of disparate places; he wicked stepmother, the wolf. This new collection of images challenges us to reinvent our own fantastical interior landscapes, outside of the Disney paradigm, and it is wonderful. A new escape.

For pictures and Maria Popova's take on this collection:

http://www.brainpickings.org/index.php/2011/09/28/brothers-grimm-fairy-tales-taschen/