Grimm Legacies 2012: Getting Started on the Recap

Yes, I have returned home to Nashville after spending the last few days at Harvard attending the Grimm Legacies Symposium. I am still processing all of the great material shared this weekend. I already know I won't be able to give the full coverage everyone would wish, but over the next few weeks I am going to glean what I can from my notes and post here.

Some of my posts will be about books mentioned--I get those questions too much not to post about the books here!--and some will be about the content of the talk themselves.

If you were a participant or audience member now reading this, please feel free to share in the comments or by email what you heard and thought. Overall, it was a great weekend and I am thankful to everyone who made it possible from the organizers at Harvard (Maria Tatar, Holly Hutchison and Deborah Foster), their supporters and all the participants and attendees. I always say these events wouldn't work without an audience, so every person sitting in a chair (or on the floor or leaning against a wall) was important to the event's success.

I met many people and enjoyed putting faces with names (and regular SurLaLune readers) so thank you for coming up and introducting yourselves, too.

And, for a light recap, you can also peruse the #GrimmLegacies tweets by Linda J. Lee and Cole Tucker on Twitter. Linda (and Donald Haase through one degree of separation) have persuaded me to try Twitter with the blog for a while. Regular readers here and some of the audience at Grimm Legacies know it will take a major change (either in me or it) for me to attempt Facebook again. You can follow me there at SurLaLuneHeidi.

Morsel of the Day: A Sense of the Numinous

My own definition of fairy tale goes something like this: A fairy tale is a story-literary or folk-that has a sense of the numinous, the feeling or sensation of the supernatural or the mysterious. But, and this is crucial, it is a story that happens in the past tense, and a story that is not tied to any specifics. If it happens "at the beginning of the world," then it is a myth. A story that names a specific "real" person is a legend (even if it contains a magical occurrence). A story that happens in the future is a fantasy. Fairy tales are sometimes spiritual, but never religious.

by Marcia Lane in Picturing a Rose: A Way of Looking at Fairy Tales

Morsel of the Day: On Fairy Stories

I said the sense "stories about fairies" was too narrow. It is too narrow, even if we reject the diminutive size, for fairy-stories are not in normal English usage stories about fairies or elves, but stories about Fairy, that is Faërie, the realm or state in which fairies have their being. Faerie contains many things besides elves and fays, and besides dwarfs, witches, trolls, giants, or dragons: it holds the seas, the sun, the moon, the sky; and the earth, and all things that are in it: tree and bird, water and stone, wine and bread, and ourselves, mortal men, when we are enchanted.

The definition of a fairy-story -- what it is, or what it should be -- does not, then, depend on any definition or historical account of elf or fairy, but upon the nature of Faërie: the Perilous Realm itself, and the air that blows in that country. I will not attempt to define that, nor to describe it directly. It cannot be done. Faërie cannot be caught in a net of words; for it is one of its qualities to be indescribable, though not imperceptible. It has many ingredients, but analysis will not necessarily discover the secret of the whole. Yet I hope that what I have later to say about the other questions will give some glimpses of my own imperfect vision of it. For the moment I will say only this: a "fairy-story" is one which touches on or uses Faërie, whatever its own main purpose may be: satire, adventure, morality, fantasy. Faërie itself may perhaps most nearly be translated by Magic - but it is magic of a peculiar mood and power, at the furthest pole from the vulgar devices of the laborious, scientific, magician. There is one proviso: if there is any satire present in the tale, one thing must not be made fun of, the magic itself. That must in that story be taken seriously, neither laughed at nor explained away.

by J. R. R. Tolkien in "On Fairy Stories" in Tree and Leaf

Free eBook: Gruesomely Grimm Zombie Tales by Wilhelm Grimm, Jakob Grimm and Todd Brown

Gruesomely Grimm Zombie Tales by Wilhelm Grimm, Jakob Grimm and Todd Brown is free today in ebook format on Amazon--it's probably on the five day window of many free ebook promotions on Amazon these days. I am amused that the rewriting of classics into vampire/zombie/sea monster stories has hit the Grimms. (I'm not so sure they would have been though!)

Book description:

Over a century ago, The Brothers Grimm compiled an iconic collection of stories. Over forty years ago, American cinema was infected by the walking dead. A few years ago, classic literature fell to that same infection.

Now, it is time for the logical, but simultaneously unlikely, fusion of the often mistakenly labeled Grimm’s Fairy Tales to fall prey to the gaping maw of undeath.

Volume One of Gruesomely Grimm Zombie Tales offers up the first twenty-five stories…with a liberal dose of blood… gore…and of course…zombies.

Morsel of the Day: A Definition of the Literary Fairy Tale

In his first short monograph, [Jens] Tismar set down the principles for a definition of the literary fairy tale (das Kunstmarchen) as genre: (1) it distinguishes itself from the oral folk tale (das Volksmarchen) in so far as it is written by a single identifiable author; (2) it is thus synthetic, artificial, and elaborate in comparison to the indigenous formation of the folk tale that emanates from communities and tends to be simple and anonymous; (the differences between the literary fairy tale and the oral folk tale do not imply that one genre is better than the other; (in fact, the literary fairy tale is not an independent genre but can only be understood and defined by its relationship to the oral tales as well as to the legend, novella, novel, and other literary fairy tales that it uses, adapts, and remodels during the narrative conception of the author.

by Jack Zipes, "Introduction: Towards the Definition of the Literary Fairy Tale" in The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales

New Book: The Great Sheep Shenanigans (Andersen Press Picture Books) by Peter Bently (Author), Mei Matsuoka (Illustrator)

The Great Sheep Shenanigans (Andersen Press Picture Books) by Peter Bently (Author), Mei Matsuoka (Illustrator) is shipping from Amazon although it has an April release date. It was released in the UK last year, so the release date isn't too firm. I haven't read it yet but I am curious about it and it has been nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award which is always a bonus, too.



This one looked like fun but I can't find many illustrations to share. However, the publisher's site and Matsuoka's blog have Sheep Pom Pom images and instructions which are charming so I decided to share those instead.

Book description:

A lamb for my supper will taste mighty fine!" thought a wily old wolf by the name of Lou Pine. Poor Lou! In this fractured fairy tale, the wolf is stopped at the hedge by the flock's protector, Rambo the Ram. So Lou sets off to find a disguise that will let him sneak into the flock. He tries a fuzzy bathrobe, paint, and even cotton candy, but nothing works out. Can he scare Red Riding Hood's grandmother into knitting him a costume? Or will she—like everyone else—be able to thwart the wolf's plans?

Morsel of the Day: Fairy Tales Are Easier to Illustrate Than Define

Fairytales, as we have come to recognise them, are perhaps easier to illustrate than to define: we tend to use the term loosely to mean ‘tales like Cinderella or Snow White’, and leave it at that. The term itself is as old as the late seventeenth century, appearing as the title of Mme d’Aulnoy’s Contes de fées in 1698, whereas the broader term folktale does not arrive till the early nineteenth century. A reasonable definition might however ask for ‘short, imaginative, traditional tales with a high moral and magical content’, essentially the qualities offered by the German term Maerchen, with its association with the world of Grimms’ fairytales. Such definitions are all too often doomed to admit exceptions: almost the first thing the first acknowledged modern European Cinderella does is murder her stepmother! But they are useful, nonetheless, and this one may be allowed to stand. The same vagueness as we might have about the definition of fairytales also tends to provide us with the assumption that they are somehow ‘timeless’ without actually being ‘old’. The assumption, too, that fairytales are somehow the province of children seems somehow to disqualify them from existing in antiquity, precisely because we tend to take it for granted that there were no children in antiquity — of the kind we somehow take for granted as the audience, readers or viewers of fairytale.

by Graham Anderson
From the introduction to Fairytale in the ancient world, p. 1

New Book: Señorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman and illustrated by Will Terry

Señorita Gordita by Helen Ketteman and illustrated by Will Terry is a new release and a take on the Gingerbread Man family of tales.

Book description:

A Tex-Mex retelling of The Little Gingerbread Man, Senorita Gordita tells the tale of its titular character as she runs through the desert, boasting and fleeing from spiders, lizards, and other desert creatures.

About the Authors

Helen Ketteman is the author of more than nineteen picture books. She writes for children ranging from preschool through fourth or fifth grade, and especially enjoys telling fractured fairy tales. Helen earned her Associate of Arts degree from Young Harris College in Young Harris, GA, and her B.A. degree in English from Georgia State University in Atlanta. http://helenketteman.com

Will Terry grew up just outside the beltway of Washington, D.C., where he enjoyed scouting, sports, and playing cello in his HS orchestra. He studied illustration at BYU, developing his interests and skills in drawing and painting. Will has illustrated 17 children's books including The Three Little Gators and Armadilly Chili. He teaches illustration part time at UVSC and enjoys snowboarding with his three sons and a warm fire with his wife. www.willterry.com

The images are from Terry's site. And here is an excerpt from Helen Ketteman's website:

“Araña (spider) wiggled her legs as she set the gordita on a paper towel to drain. “You’re one tasty-looking gordita! I’m in for a treat.”

But that gordita hopped up. “Oh no, Araña! I’m one fast gordita! You can’t catch me!” And with a flip and a skip and and a zip-zoom-zip, the gordita raced out the door.

“Señorita Gordita! Come back!” called Araña, chasing after her.

But Señorita Gordita zipped through the desert till she came to a creosote bush.

Lagarto (lizard) was resting underneath. He opened one eye. “Hola, Señorita Gordita!” Come share my shade,” he said. “You look delicious…I mean, hot.”

Señorita Gordita jumped aside. “Oh no, amigo! I ran from Araña so fast, I left her spinning. I’ll run away from you, too. I’m putting the pedal to the metal. Adiós, Lagarto!” And with a flip and a skip, and a zip-zoom-zip, off she ran. Lagarto skittered after her.”

Morsel of the Day: Told by a Real Person

A special pleasure arises from coming to terms, even if only partially, with the special qualities of each version of a tale within its own context, of fathoming the reasons for the impressive constancy in the basic outlines of many stories across the centuries, and of seeking to account for the equally perplexing variations that can sometimes occur. Abstract arguments can be helpful in disproving the notion that there can be a pure fairy tale form in which no adjustments to immediate cultural needs or pressures have taken place and in which no ulterior motive has prompted the telling and influenced the shaping of the story. But the best support for such reasoning may be to let a variety of tales speak for themselves. They tell us that fairy tales can and should he approached at more than one different angle. They lend weight to the view of the Italian philosopher, historian, and critic Benedetto Croce (1866-1952) that we possess only specific tellings of the tales and that we must analyze these tellings rather than hypothesize about what does not exist. Croce argued strenuously against what he regarded as arbitrary theories about Indian origins, primitive origins, and so forth of fairy tales. In analyzing individual tellings, we need to be as attentive as possible to the particularities of context, since whether a tale is recounted orally or written, it is told by a real person at a particular point in history. These tellers have their own personalities, time periods, sexes, social classes, and multiple communities.

by Jan M. Ziolkowski
From the introduction to Fairy Tales from Before Fairy Tales: The Medieval Latin Past of Wonderful Lies, p. 7

Bargain Ebooks: Last Day to Get The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie

The Fairy Tale Fiction of Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie edited by Heidi Anne Heiner (yours truly) is free as an ebook right now and today is the last day. I believe the sale is ending Thursday night at midnight PST.

And while we are here, February started a new list of 100 Kindle eBooks for $3.99 or less on Amazon. Somehow a fairy tale related book almost always gets on this monthly list. This time the book is Black as Snow by Nick Nolan for $1.99.

Book description:

Sebastian Black is a god amongst men: he’s devastatingly handsome and charismatic—and telepathic. So when his scheming mother, prophetess Kitty Black, announces that her son is the “next species of man,” the world begins taking notice. Together, Kitty and Sebastian forge a spiritual movement that celebrates “divine evolution” while warning of a mass extinction. But just as their fame and wealth are building, a tragedy befalls one of Sebastian’s disciples, and threats from Christian militants become too real to ignore.

Sebastian flees Los Angeles—and his mother—in search of peace and freedom. One by one he encounters “common” people who astonish him with their uncomplicated stories of love and compassion: an aging lesbian couple; a Mexican handyman; a shy, anorexic woman; a recovering meth addict; a gay teenager; and an unthinking college jock. Surprisingly, each has a profound effect upon this arrogant young “messiah.”

As Sebastian drifts further away from Kitty, she becomes more determined to preserve their celebrity status and glittering lifestyle. She sets out to reel Sebastian back to her—even if it means conspiring with his enemies, in particular a dashing young Spaniard who darkly mirrors Sebastian’s supernatural talents and good looks. But not even the telepathic Sebastian can foresee what happens next.

From the sleek penthouses of Century City to the savage coastline of Big Sur, Black as Snow twists the beloved fairy tale of Snow White into a suspense-filled story of intrigue, spirituality, and greed…and the unstoppable power of everyday love.

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara (Author), Mark Fearing (Illustrator)

The Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara (Author), Mark Fearing (Illustrator) was released this past September. I haven't seen The Three Little Pigs done quite like this before!

Book description:

GREEP BOINK MEEP! The three little aliens are happily settling into their new homes when the Big Bad Robot flies in to crack and smack and whack their houses down! A chase across the solar system follows in this out-of-this-world version of the classic Three Little Pigs tale. Margaret McNamara (How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin?) and Mark Fearing (The Book that Eats People) have created a humorous and visually stunning story that kids will adore—and that will introduce them to the planets and the solar system. The endpapers even include a labeled diagram of all the planets.

If you look closely at the endpapers, you'll see the houses on the planets.

Morsel of the Day: The Literary Fairy Tale

From The Great Fairy Tale Tradition: Introduction by Jack Zipes, p. xi-xii:

Since we know that many different kinds of storytelling existed in antiquity before oral wonder tales came into existence, and since we know that there were many kinds of wondrous oral and literary tales that served to form the hybrid “species” of the literary fairy tale, we can trace a historical evolution of all these tales by examining how bits and pieces of story accumulated in different cultures and then eventually gelled to form a genre. We cannot say with historical precision when the literary fairy tale evolved, but we can trace motifs and elements of the literary fairy tale to numerous types of storytelling and stories of antiquity that contributed to the formation of a particular branch of telling and writing tales. In the western European tradition, this branching occurred sometime in the fourteenth century and fifteenth centuries and led to a special literary genre in the sixteenth century that we today call the literary fairy tale.