Ask Baba Yaga: All I Can Think About Is Getting Married

Bony Legs by Joanna Cole

I'm guessing Baba Yaga has had girls ask this question more than once (!) in her long life, so her reply is... refreshingly blunt. ;) 

This week's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

My favorite responses so far:

• Ahra Yaga, I in az oo uyessted, ang now i'm no clozher to ang anszher, and now I have no teesh and no awddy to uh-phhpt. I hate oo Ahra Yaga. (Emby)
• Sometimes on the first read, I think the punctuation is emoticons. Like her "wench" comes with a good-natured smile and she winks at the end to let us know it's all in fun. (SarahP)
• "Deathlove pond" is a spot-on description of the state of love/infatuation. No sootheengs shall there be, wench, indeed. (Jocasta Carr)
• As someone who is currently in their mid-twenties, ambitious, independent, and idiotically in love with and desirous of marrying someone I've only just started dating (3 dates!) I desperately wanted there to be a real answer to this question and read it knowing that this feature does not actually provide advice and am yet somehow still disappointed that I did not receive any... 
  Although in retrospect "the longing & wondering is half the joy of this deathlove pond you've a-stumbled into" is pretty much the same thing as the "Enjoy it, this is the exciting part!" all my friends have given me. So there's that. (Titania)

Dear Emby: Ouch. I hope you have a good dentist, for the sake of your love life and eating apples... 
Dear Titania: *brushes milkweed gently out of your hair*...Have fun!
And I would have to agree with a sentiment that pops up every week in at least one of the comments: This is one of the best advice columns ever!


What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?

Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?

You can!

There's now an email address where you can send your questions

directly to Baba Yaga herself.

AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com

To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty... 

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.