And this ending brought together everything I was feeling as I read- "The leaves overhead are rustling, shifting shafts of sun pushing through, and it should be available to everyone, this. It should be available to everyone, without fear or limit."
How many simple pleasures and beautiful things do we miss when we're raised to anticipate every danger, keep our eyes down, listen for footsteps behind us.
Ahhh thank you! I’m glad it struck a chord. I almost didn’t write it - I think I felt I didn’t want the darkness/fear/predator side to come into this creative writing space, but I think writing about it is how we make sense of it and how we push back, start to make change. And it releases something too, which could fester if held in and pushed down….
I'm so glad you did 💓 You're exactly right too, if it's held in it'll fester. And the way you shared it, it came with such curiosity and perspective about the subject, it never felt too heavy or frightening to carry with you which isn't always easy to do but you did it 👏👏
Thank you! I think I do feel generally hopeful and I think there’s a power in naming things, too. Even in my fiction, I often tackle darker subjects and give trigger warnings, but I hope to handle those things sensitively and to end on a hopeful note. Thanks for all your thoughts - there’s enough in the comments now to inspire a whole new piece!
I know, it’s crazy isn’t it? It makes me think our stories will cease to make sense - you know, the ones based on the turning of the seasons, that offer explanations for things that are steadily becoming untrue - or at least that happen at completely different times!
Indeed! I think especially stories recording change are important, not necessarily to say old ways were better, but to keep an understanding of the layers of time that got us to where we are.
I watched the film probably a little too young: the severed head in the vat of milk ruined strawberry milkshakes for me. You're right, Carter's prose is much better. :)
Oh yes, I see that! I really wanted to love the film, but I love the stories so much it’s hard for anything to live up to it. I worked on a production of The Bloody Chamber when I was 19, and I did my final university project on The Lady of the House of Love. So many gut punchingly beautiful lines, so many images that will stay with me forever.
My favourite retelling of little red is “In the Desert Like a Bone” by Seanan McGuire :).
It comes from the anthology “the Starlit Wood” by Amal El-Mohtar.
Oh that looks to be a good one, thank you!
Bonnie this was so so so good! 👏👏👏💓
And this ending brought together everything I was feeling as I read- "The leaves overhead are rustling, shifting shafts of sun pushing through, and it should be available to everyone, this. It should be available to everyone, without fear or limit."
How many simple pleasures and beautiful things do we miss when we're raised to anticipate every danger, keep our eyes down, listen for footsteps behind us.
👏👏💓 Thank you!
Ahhh thank you! I’m glad it struck a chord. I almost didn’t write it - I think I felt I didn’t want the darkness/fear/predator side to come into this creative writing space, but I think writing about it is how we make sense of it and how we push back, start to make change. And it releases something too, which could fester if held in and pushed down….
I'm so glad you did 💓 You're exactly right too, if it's held in it'll fester. And the way you shared it, it came with such curiosity and perspective about the subject, it never felt too heavy or frightening to carry with you which isn't always easy to do but you did it 👏👏
Thank you! I think I do feel generally hopeful and I think there’s a power in naming things, too. Even in my fiction, I often tackle darker subjects and give trigger warnings, but I hope to handle those things sensitively and to end on a hopeful note. Thanks for all your thoughts - there’s enough in the comments now to inspire a whole new piece!
I saw a blackberry bush in the park yesterday. A third of the berries were already ripe. Never seen them so early in the season.
I know, it’s crazy isn’t it? It makes me think our stories will cease to make sense - you know, the ones based on the turning of the seasons, that offer explanations for things that are steadily becoming untrue - or at least that happen at completely different times!
True. We will need our stories to change. We always need our stories to relate to our lived lives.
Indeed! I think especially stories recording change are important, not necessarily to say old ways were better, but to keep an understanding of the layers of time that got us to where we are.
Your writing is gorgeous, Bonnie. This is gorgeous.
Ahhh thank you! This one’s a day late because yesterday I just wasn’t feeling it… until about 10pm 😂
I think mine has to be Angela Carter's The Company of Wolves: "She knew she was nobody's meat."
(I wrote my own reworking last year called Santa Claws - a dark Christmassy fairy tale in the red riding tradition based loosely on my daughter.)
Thank you for the article - you're right - we should all feel safe walking in the woods, but increasingly, I don't when I'm on my own.
Ahhh Angela Carter, that’s a good one. I watched the film of that at University too but didn’t like it as much as the story
I watched the film probably a little too young: the severed head in the vat of milk ruined strawberry milkshakes for me. You're right, Carter's prose is much better. :)
Oh yes, I see that! I really wanted to love the film, but I love the stories so much it’s hard for anything to live up to it. I worked on a production of The Bloody Chamber when I was 19, and I did my final university project on The Lady of the House of Love. So many gut punchingly beautiful lines, so many images that will stay with me forever.
That sounds great!