Showing posts with label podcast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label podcast. Show all posts

Monday, June 29, 2009

"To the Best of Our Knowledge" Podcast Episode Focuses On Fairy Tales

The podcast "To the Best of Our Knowledge" focuses on fairy tales this week. The episode is just under an hour long and has interviews with each of the people mentioned below and excerpts from their work (where relevant) included in the entertaining discussion on the importance of fairy tales during hard times - for not only children but adults too.

The following summaries of the podcast contents ae from the website and I've added the relevant books and links so you can find the people and the works discussed:
Annie Gauger has edited an annotated version of the classic novel ”The Wind in the Willows.”Nina Paley has re-told the story from the Ramayana using animation, Indonesian shadow puppets and a ‘20s era jazz singer.Musharraf Ali Farooqi translates ancient Indian tales of sorcerers and wizards, originally written in Urdu.Maria Tatar talks about what makes fairy tales so compelling to children. *Jack Zipes discusses Kurt Schwitters’ life and work, particularly his surreal fairy tales.

You can listen to the interesting podcast HERE.

* I have a post, with reviews, coming up on 7/3/09 all about Maria Tatar's new book.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Circumnavigating Fairyland - New Book & Podcast from CM Valente

Catherynne M. Valente, award winning author of "The Orphan's Tales", is writing - and podcasting - a new YA book with the lengthy and whimsical, wonderfully olde-worlde title of:


After many enquiries as to whether the fairy tale book mentioned in her (very) adult book, "Palimpsest" was real, Valente took it upon herself to bring it into existence. It turns out she really likes writing Young Adult fantasy!

(From CMV's blog:)
This is a book about a little girl named September who gets herself a ticket to Fairyland on the back of The Green Wind and a somewhat cranky Leopard. There she discovers the realm of the capricious Marquess and the dangers of the Perverse and Perilous Sea. It is going to be something else.
In her blog, she talks about her process and discoveries as she writes it. She's also recording herself reading it and posting both the text of the chapters and the audio, week by week, podcast-style as the book is completed. It's completely free though donations are welcome.

You can follow her progress through her blog, week by week through the podcast and also via Twitter. Here's her announcement:
#Fairyland is live! Read girl's adventures w/ leopards, fairies, & customs agents! Read for free, pay if you can! http://tinyurl.com/mbpvur


There are wonderful echoes of "The Orphans Tale" evident already, which should make for a rich, enjoyable experience for the reader/listener and one that stands the test of time.