"The Northlore Series: Volume One - Folklore" - Review by Leena Naidoo

"The Northlore Series: Volume One - Folklore" 

Stories edited by MJ Kobernus, Poetry edited by Katie Metcalfe

Review by Leena Naidoo

Editor's Note: I wasn't quite sure what to expect when Once Upon A Blog was offered a review copy of this book, but I have to say I found this anthology of short stories and poetry to be right up my alley and very much worth my time. I'll leave it to Leena to give you the lowdown, but suffice it to say, I personally recommend this book for people interested in Nordic folklore and fairy tales and will be on the lookout for upcoming books in the series. (Stay tuned for opportunities to contribute to upcoming volumes!)

Jacket description: 

Volume One of the Northlore Series is a modern collection of Scandinavian Folktales, told in new and often surprising ways. With humour, drama and and more than a little tension, you will be drawn into a world of Trolls and Huldr, Elves and Mara. We live in a world full of hidden creatures, if you have the eye to see them. And if you don't, the wonderful illustrations contained in the book should help! The book itself has mystical significance as 33 is a magic number. Is it a coincidence that there are 33 inspired contributions? Well, yes, actually, it probably is. Welcome to the Northlore series. Poetry and prose inspired by Scandinavian Folklore. In turns funny, horrifying, sexy and sad, what you seek is within. Warning! Do NOT feed the animals.

Mention Scandinavian folklore and I think of snow, Vikings, trolls, magic, and Norse gods. They have a distinct sense of humor, a certain amount of gore, and offer a glimpse into the human condition. Northlore, an unusual anthology of short stories and poems, delivers on all these points—except for the gods. Don't expect dragons, trips to Valhalla, or rescues of those under enchantment or stolen by elves. Instead, you might find the reason Grandma warned you about that, or why Mother might have acted so. Or the possible fate of an ill-informed tourist…

Here are just a few highlights of this collection:

Hold the Door, by Sarah Lyn Eaton, makes for an excellent beginning. With a strong voice, we are introduced to images of the terrors and cold of the Northern darkness, and the magic just beyond the threshold. Here we learn of the practicalities of Norse winters, where safety, food and warmth come first. It's a wonderful story of a new shield maiden's bravery when facing a magical adversary. 

There are selkies too. A slightly twisted modern version in Between Two Worlds, by Claire Casey, was, without a doubt, one of my favorites. Set in modern day Kirkwall, Orkney; it reminded me of my visit there. Though I didn't see any selkies myself, it's easy to believe that, had I met one, I too could have stolen its coat and accepted the consequences... 

Gustave Trolle — a strange, satisfying tale of a cursed man — was one I did not expect to enjoy, but ended up finding extremely intriguing. At first, it seems a bit of history about a Bishop. It grows into a modern urban fantasy and ends in what may one day be a fable. I would never have considered a troll in this way before, and will now have to redefine my concept of them.

Haute Cuisine, by Gregg Chamberlain, is a delightful tale of a three-headed troll. It's a bit of silliness best read over a glass of pre-dinner wine, or told with a twinkle in your eye. 

A northern collection would be incomplete without the dark and horrifying. Northlore's most terrifying story features draugrs — vengeful, almost indestructible undead — perhaps the forerunners of modern zombies. Although other nightmarish creatures are plentiful, they are well balanced by the light-hearted. Enter modern Huldufolk (hidden folk of Iceland), with their bewitchment and elfish ways, all seeming dependent on us humans for love and understanding. Other stories read like X-Files, with ancient creatures meeting modern spelunkers, fabled beings mating with city journos; and things that go bump in city-central apartments.

In addition to short tales, this anthology contains poetry, some of it haunting, like Fossegrim. Others, like Mara, My Love, draw more from fairy tales or the Otherworld — trolls, witches, nightmares, magic, ancestry — they are all there.

Even with the sometimes unusual editing (due to some of the authors being non-native English speakers), I found Northlore well-written with a diverse range of voices and talented storytellers. I will happily add this anthology to my ever-growing collection of fairy tales from around the world. There are a few gems I'd like to revisit from time to time, and I like the way the traditional is married with the modern.

Recommended to: Fans of The X-Files, those curious about modern Nordic (especially Icelandic) fairy tales, and those looking for alternatives to Grimm and Perrault.

Disclosure: A complimentary copy of the book was sent to the reviewer in exchange for an honest review.

Leena Naidoo lives in South Africa and has loved fairy tales ever since her mum used to tell her old Scottish stories. Her own stories draw on Gaelic and Scandinavian tales and can be found under her pen name, Anushka Haakonson, at  www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AnushkaHaakonson . Her all time favorite fairytale is East of the Sun, West of the Moon, which she fell in love with when she read Dianna Wynne Jones' Fire and Hemlock. Her is blog is called Inbetweener https://leennanaidoo.wordpress.com.

Back To School With Knights & Trolls

“Lena och riddaren dansa” / “ Lena dances with the knight ” Signed John Bauer and dated 1915.
Watercolour, heightening white, indian ink and pencil on paper.

It's been a little busy in our barracks! Back to school (first day yesterday) has turned out to be a busy, busy time here (!) so I apologize for missing a couple of days of news but we're working on rescheduling things so I can have dedicated fairy tale news time every day again. For the moment, enjoy some lovely artwork by one of my favorite artists: John Bauer. (Click to view at the wonderfully large size!)

The above illustration was created for W.E. Björk’s fairy tale 'Guldnycklama' In "Blan tomtar och troll" ("Among gnomes and trolls"), in 1915.

Oh yes - and it turns out my little guy does go to school with some interesting creatures!

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Timeless Tales Magazine Cover Contest (with Publishing & Cash Prize!)

A very cool opportunity and announcement from Tahlia at Timeless Tales Magazine!

We're hosting a cover contest! 

Here are the details, in case you missed them in the first announcement: 

The Prize: $40 to the contest winner and the possibility of future paid gigs in the future. Your cover will be featured on our Baba Yaga issue and credit will be given inside the issue to your work, including a link to your portfolio/website. 

The work of Five Favorite Runners-Up will be chosen to be featured in a blog post when our cover is revealed.   

The contest will be judged solely by me (Tahlia) and is completely based on my opinions and vision for the magazine.  

Submissions announcement image only - you do not need to reference these visuals in any way!

THE RULES: 

• WHEN: From Now Until August 15th 2015, 12am CST -- winner announced before the end of August 16th, 2015 (CST) 

• WHERE: Email all submissions to timelesstalesmagazine@gmail.com with the words "Baba Yaga Cover Contest" in the subject line. 

• FORMAT: PNG preferred, but will also accept high quality JPGs. Please label the file with your name. 

• SIZE: Either 940 x 900 or 816 x 1056

Elements it must include:

1. The title "Timeless Tales Magazine". Would ideally like it to use our official logo's font, but will consider different fonts. See this Dropbox link for PNG files of our title:https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hg3ve42d9cxzsza/AAAwihto9ob4HrbSfVJdWbEKa?dl=0 

2. The words "Baba Yaga" somewhere. 

3. The words "Issue #5" somewhere.  

4. A graphic that vividly represents our theme, Baba Yaga. This could be your interpretation of Baba Yaga herself or it could be her infamous house, her mortar/pestle, or anything else you feel captures an aspect of those tales. 

5. Your bio in the body of the email that we can use if you win. If you want to include a few lines about your process coming up with the cover design, feel free. 

6. Optionally, I've included TT's Hourglass logo in the dropbox graphics (See item #1). I've never found a way to incorporate it into a cover, but if you want to try using it, feel free to give it a try. 

IMPORTANT: Please avoid classic storybook styles.  

We are aiming for a style that looks like a modern magazine cover (or vintage/retro at the oldest).

For example, you notice that our 12 Dancing Princesses doesn't look fairytale-ish because we want to prepare our readers for a variety of genres, from sci-fi to westerns, in our magazine. 

Look at our other covers for inspiration HERE. 

Don't forget to check out the mini-covers we create for each story, too (click on each issue to view the mini-covers for each)! 

Please only use graphics you legally have a right to use. 

Please, please, please don't put me in the awful position of getting a nasty email from a photographer/artist saying we're using their image without asking permission.  

Have fun, be creative and think outside the usual boxes!  

You're always welcome to email me (Tahlia) questions at timelesstalesmagazine@gmail.com, if you want to run a risky idea by me before creating it. 

Here's the countdown to the NEW DEADLINE!

Have fun and good luck!

Tahlia Merrill Kirk

Editor of Timeless Tales Magazine

www.timelesstalesmagazine.com

Animated Musical Comedy "Charming" Gets Pop Divas (x4) to Voice Their Princesses

Apparently the new trend is focusing on Prince Charming.

No, I'm not repeating news - this is NOT about the Disney live-action "Charming". This is a new and different project: an animated musical comedy, also titled "Charming",  coming from 3QU Media.

From Playbill and iAfrica:

Avril Lavigne and Ashley Tisdale and G.E.M. will join Demi Lovato in voicing fairy-tale heroines for the animated musical comedy Charming.
...In the film, Lavigne will voice Snow White, Tisdale will play Cinderella and (Chinese pop-star) G.E.M. Sleeping Beauty. Lovato will play the female lead, Lenore.
...In the film, a cursed Prince Philip Charming must find his true love before his 21st birthday or risk losing all claim to the throne.
The film is produced by John H. Williams who was behind Shrek, and will be written and directed by Ross Venokur.
Charming is set to be released next year.

No word on who Charming will be voiced by yet but 'next year' is ridiculously soon. 

I'm also just confused by this news. Where is all this 'charming' business coming from? Even OUAT will be focusing on Charming and King Arthur as the other story-draw in the Dark Swan season, complete with buddy stories and 'a different kind of 'bromance' being teased by the Producers. Between Charmings and Arthurs there's a definite bizarre trend happening. While I'm a fan of great stories for boys coming back into fantasy, (especially after all the princess culture' we've been drowning in), I'm not sure I like it.

Thoughts? 

Concept art for 3QU Media's "Charming"

Disney's "Descendants" Is Not Done - Next Up: The Animated Series

Someone decided waaay before Descendants aired that this was going to be a huge hit. How do I know? Because they went ahead a spent a tidy chunk of change on getting a short-form series animated, and it's set to air very soon - in September.

From the Press Examiner:

The official word: “Descendants Wicked World“, an animated short-form series set in the Auradon and Isle of the Lost worlds of Disney’s hit movie “Descendants“, is set to premiere FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 on Disney Channel and its digital platforms, including WATCH Disney Channel.

Here's the teaser trailer:

 I know they were trying to draw in the tweens and teens with the live action, which is why they went in that direction first, but with the doll line for Descendants already out (I told you someone was banking on this being a hit) and this approach as an Ever After High-type rival, they look to be settling on the pre-teen demographic, which explains to me why they have the wardrobes they do (ie they look fine on dolls - real people, not-so-much). Actually. for pre-teens, the animated series looks just fine and on target (am I seeing traces of the Sophia approach in there? Anyway, girls who like Sophia, should graduate to this short series just fine.)

Oh and if you're an adult and want to catch up and have a little of fun at the same time, it's been suggested that you engage in one of the many suggested drinking games while watching the recently aired Disney Channel movie. (Seriously: google "drinking game" and "Disney's Descendants". There are a TON of suggestions as to how to go about this!) From the looks of it, it appears to be a very fun way to get up to speed!

Ask Baba Yaga: What Happened To My Nightmares?

Baba Yaga the Goddess of Death by Solongo Mellecker

It's weird the things people miss, isn't it? Sometimes even bad things have a odd sort of comfort because you know yourself in that context, it's familiar, but moving beyond needing those things to define you, should be a goal, shouldn't it? But after that, who are you then?

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

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

You have to admit, shadows are intriguing, aren't they? So weird that an absence of them causes you to enjoy the 'light' less!

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.

Lyngo's "Puss In Boots" Betrays It's Commedia dell'Arte Roots (And It's Awesome!) + A Chance To Get A Children's Ticket On Us!

This is the perfect context for the phrase "theater toys", because play is a large part of how Lyngo Theater tells their stories in their Children's Theater productions. In the currently running production Puss In Boots, The Master Cat is clearly a master of this medium. It's a wonderfully inventive, one-man show (with music and prop support) yet rooted strongly in traditional street theater and puppetry.

Take a look at the promo video below and you'll see what I mean:

Turns out, Lyngo IS related to the Commedia dell'Arte tradition! In fact, the whole company has strong Italian connections and manages to elevate Children's Theater without compromising on theatrical and storytelling quality.

If you've seen as much Children's Theater as I have, especially very young children's theater, you'll know it's quite a feat to manage this. So often Children's Theater has to manage on minimal budgets, unskilled volunteers and hand-me-down 'everythings', until what started out as an excellent idea tends to get watered down till it becomes the seriously poor cousin of 'real theater' and isn't given the respect it deserves for being many children's first introduction to live performing arts.
        
There has definitely been a change in this trend recently. I've seen some incredible productions begin to get attention here and there, especially if they're very innovative with their medium, and Lyngo is definitely part of this new generation of excellent theater you should take children to.

Here's a little bit about Lyngo, from their publicity page:

LYNGO is a UK based children’s theatre company with strong Italian connections. Our shows have delighted children and adults for over 10 years with their unique mix of fun and beautiful imagery, working magically together to reveal the vivid poetic realm that is at the heart of our work.Our trademark features are a singular visual flair, an inventive use of props -beautifully designed and hand-made ‘theatre toys’- and an interactive and genuine approach to play, no matter the age of our audience. Lyngo has currently on offer a repertoire of end-on shows for older children (3-10 years) and in-the-round interactive shows for a very young audience (1-5 years) “Lyngo knows the score when it comes to producing theatre for the very young. “ The Stage

And a little about Patrick Lynch, whom you see in the video above:

WRITER, ACTOR AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR  Patrick Lynch has specialised in children’s theatre since 2003, after a wide-ranging career in theatre, television and film and academia. He studied psychology at Glasgow University and then dramatherapy and worked for many years with special-needs groups. He has worked extensively in Europe in theatre-forms like Commedia dell’Arte and clowning. In the UK he has acted and directed for companies like Oily Cart and been a workshop and project leader for many organisatons. Since 2006 he has been presenting television programmes for the BBC on their channel Cbeebies.

Lyngo theater is currently performing Puss In Boots around the UK and will be for the rest of the year, at least until December - aka panto season. (I dearly wish they were touring internationally!)
            

Check the Touring Schedule tab HERE for the specifics, and please let us know if you go! 

In fact...

- newsflash...newsflash... ANNOUNCEMENT!... newsflash... newsflash -
If you are in the UK and would like to go I will pay for one children's ticket in return for a short* review, that includes a one-line (or half-line!) quote from the child you take with you, on what they thought of the show. I'm offering one ticket only, so first come, first serve. Just email me at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com with your name, the name and age of the child you are taking (to put the ticket in their name) and when and where you want to go. We'll set up a reserved ticket at the box office for you.

* 'short' means, literally, just a few lines, unless you feel like writing more (which we would also love), in which case I would just ask you keep it under 500 words. Ish.

"Once Upon A Time"'s Dark Swan Season Teaser

Before I get into a discussion which, I promise, is not spoilery, nor is it "down" on OUAT, take a look at the promo.

I like the echo of the twisted thorns that surrounded both Snow White and the Evil Queen in the promos for the first season. Those twisted black branches always felt like an incarnation of the curse to me. Now Emma is in the middle of twisted black, er, ribbons? Slime? Dark matter?? Whatever, the concept echoes the first season, and from the extended Snow White monologue promo for season 5, (which you can see HERE) which implores Emma to remember who she is, right from an actual "Once upon a time..." narrated beginning, complete with harking back to season one imagery and more, it may even be solidifying the mythology and original themes somewhat. That would be a good thing.

Though a Light Swan/Dark Swan concept isn't new to fairy tale folk (or ballet folk.. or people who watched critically acclaimed films of the past few years.. ahem) it may seem a very different idea for many and I've decided to stop griping about the regurgitation of ideas and just let them be discovered by a whole new generation of society/folk.

I have to admit, sometimes things that feel, to me, to be "done to death", really are new ideas to younger people. This generation didn't/isn't grow/ing up with every little girl being sent to ballet and knowing Swan Lake, just like they're not a generation that got beautifully illustrated fairy tale collections as a standard part of their standard childhood library. From a story perspective, it's incredibly sad, but it also provides an opportunity to revisit tales and to do it in a different, more contemporarily reflective way, than they might have, had the tales been passed on in "full form". (It also means, for storytellers and anyone working with tales, that when you see pop culture and general society sucking up this stuff so greedily, that there's an awesome opportunity for using your creativity and craft to bing stories back.)

Aside: I have a theory that this 'tale vacuum' that a large section of generation X grew up in, helped provide the  opportunity to successfully publish Schoenworth's collection, contributed to the intense popularity of Willingham's Fables, and, currently, supports the Disney live-action retread of classic films. It likely also contributes to keeping OUAT alive, despite it's many shortcomings. People are thirsty for traditional tales and when presented with them - especially if they believe them to be "new" or at least "fresh twists" (eg Tale of Tales film or Schoenworth's collection - tales from both of which have really been around for hundreds of years, just in relative obscurity to Grimms and Andersen's)- will lap them up and ask for "more!")

Above: Up on the left, the only time I have seen this poster is in a search so I suspect an excellent fan made job (and if it is it truly is excellent!). I particularly like the swan neck being the hook. Further down on the right is a fan made image calling back the idea of the thorns and the curse surrounding Emma, as well as the Dark One being able to be 'summoned' by whomever holds the dagger.

But back to OUAT's coming Dark Swan: One thing OUAT does well, is provide ample fodder in the way of visuals, one-liner summaries and fairy tale concepts that fans then take and make their own in the form of memes, fan art, cosplays, fan fiction and so much more (see image above for an example). The visuals (via screencaps and more) are easy to work with because they're fairly typical in their presentation so, while lack of originality in framing and filming might seem annoying at times, it gives fans tons of opportunities to run with their personal ideas and make new forms of expression (especially with all the awesome free graphics and filter programs available on the web for free these days. Anyone with a solid idea and some creativity can produce some really gorgeous and interesting images to share, express feelings or to tell the story - or stories - their way, as they see them.)

Though it's been a while since I added to it properly to cover the series, I have a board on Pinterest of interesting fan art inspired by Once Upon A Time HERE and it's worth a look. Why? Because this is people retelling the stories - and fairy tales! -, in their own way, with their own creativity, putting their own spin on the tropes and spreading those stories through popular culture, with the undeniable thumbprint of the present embedded as well.

This coming season promises MANY fan made stories circulating the internet via images, memes and heart-felt sentiments. I'm actually looking forward to seeing what the fans focus on, and what tales - and forms - become popular as a result.

The Choices of Wild Boys and Wild Men (wonderfully illustrated by Melissa Castrillon)

A chapter illustration by Melssa Castrillon for the book 'The golden ages of folk & fairy tales' by Jack Zipes.
Published in 2013 by Hackett Publishing.

Busy trying to do too many things at once and completely envious of people who were able to rest and rejuvenate this summer in the US! Maybe I'll aim to hibernate in Winter for a bit instead (except I adore Winter and don't want to miss a chilly moment!), but this week, despite it all I have to figure out how to get kiddo ready for back-to-school...

Speaking of 'going underground', above is my son's favorite picture from Jack Zipes' The Golden Age of Folk & Fairy Tales. We both keep coming back to it, so much so that he often talks about what might be hidden from sight when we're out in nature.

We were reminded to look at it again just yesterday when he/we were playing the newly released, rebooted fantasy/fairy tale-ish video game King's Quest. Along with surprises underground, the bridge trolls are just awesome, there are dragons in caves full of weird old beds (Why not?) , archery skills to learn, and many, many puns an eight year old can laugh at. With Christopher Lloyd playing the aging knight-king narrating his adventure to his granddaughter and the surprisingly awesome addition of Princess Bride alum Wallace Shawn ("Inconceivable!") it's a fun adventure which is more true to heart than expected.  (The illustration below, also by Melissa Castrillon, is right on theme for all these stories, and an especially good one for young boys to hear too, particularly in the context of making choices, which is what King's Quest is all about.) It's a pretty good way to wrap up some parent-kind end-of-summer playtime because these stories beget stories and I love that.

You can dig and dig and there are always more tales to discover. Perhaps instead of turtles all the way down, it's tales... ;)

'An old Cherokee is teaching his grandson about life. "A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy. "It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves. One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego." He continued, "The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too." The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, "Which wolf will win?" The old Cherokee simply replies, "The one you feed."

Grimm Scavenger Hunt Coming to LA in 2016!

I was sent this yesterday and am so thrilled by this idea that I'm going to take a serious look at my schedule to see if I can participate!

Here's the press release, care of Siren Day Camps (one of the many fascinating branches of Siren School aka L'Ecole Siréne):

Grimm Scavenger Hunt

Step back in time to a charming Bavarian village where hot apple strudel is served with cold beer, farmers sell their fresh produce, and at any moment, someone may break out into a polka. It's the sort of place you'd expect to see in a fairy tale, especially of the Grimm variety, and it's the perfect setting for our fractured and fabled scavenger hunt.

Saturday, April 9, 2016

10am - 2:30pm

Old World Village

Huntington Beach, CA

10am - We'll meet and greet at the Coffee Tale, known to have the best coffee in the Black Forest (or at least Huntington Beach). While waiting for everyone to find their way in, we'll talk a bit about the Brothers Grimm and the world in which their tales evolved.

10:45ish - Grimm Scavenger Hunt: Enjoy browsing at the Old World Farmer's Market while you search for bread crumbs, so to speak

12noon - We'll take a mitaggessen break at the German Restaurant, featuring German Pretzels, Potato Pancakes, Brats & Wursts, Sauerkraut, German Potato Salad, Spaetzle, Bread Dumplings, Schnitzels, and more. Those who tip enough German beer may be cajoled into doing the chicken dance.

1pm - Grimmer Scavenger Hunt: Use your wits and wiles, as you scour the village to collect the remaining bits of information needed to complete your hunt 

2pm - We'll gather at the Old World German Bakery to determine our Scavenger Hunt winner and celebrate over Apple Strudel, German Chocolate Cake, Sachertortes, and Black Forest Cake. Our winner will be awarded with a rustic prize of dubious worth.

$35 per person for scavenger hunt; food is no-host i.e. not included

(Costumes wilkommen, by the by.)