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Portrait of Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov |
Soviet stamp (1988) based on the 1975 animated film |
I asked an old man walking with his beard down to his knees: “Why are you so bent?” He waved his hands at me. “My youth was lost on the ground,” he said, “And I am bending down to look for it.
Lyons' 2008 Translation |
Photograph by Rischgitz/Getty Images |
“In France and Germany, the protagonist is a veteran, starving for lack of work after the war; in Italy, he is a woodsman, wounded by an accident inherent in his profession. In Spain, he is a pirate, shipwrecked after a poorly deliberated decision. In all places, he is a man who has lost his faith in God, and makes no secret of his apostasy.”
– Miss Eva Williams, “The Hawkman.”
“Bridgetonne was not without other misfits: old maids who, in an earlier time, might have been mistaken for witches, and bachelors who, likewise, would have been called out as warlocks. But by no means was the village haunted.”
My master the sultan, here is my most remarkable experience during my time in office. I had ten thieves hanged, each on a gibbet of his own, and I told the guards to watch to see that nobody removed any of the corpses. The next day, when I came to look at them, I found two corpses hanging from the same gibbet.
‘Who has done this,’ I asked the guards, ‘and where is the gibbet belonging to this second corpse?’
They disclaimed any knowledge of the affair, but when I was about to have them flogged, they said: ‘We fell asleep last night, emir, and when we woke up we found that one of the corpses, together with its gibbet, had been stolen. We were afraid, and when we saw a passing peasant coming up towards us with his donkey, we seized him, killed him and hanged him on this gibbet in place of the corpse that had been removed.’
I was taken by surprise and asked them what the peasant had had with him. They told me that he had had a saddlebag on his donkey, and when I asked what was in it they said that they didn’t know.
‘Bring it to me,’ I told them, and when they did, I ordered them to open it. There inside it was the body of a murdered man cut into pieces. I was astonished at this sight and said to myself: ‘Glory be to God. The reason that this peasant was hanged was that he was guilty of murder, and God does not treat His servants unjustly.’
What is it? 5th annual national conference of the Australian Fairy Tale Society
When is it? Sunday 10th June, 2018
Where is it? Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney (NSW, Australia)
Who is the Keynote Speaker this year? Bestselling author, scholar and storyteller Kate Forsyth.
Who can attend? Anyone who is a fairy tale enthusiast! Our conference generally appeals to writers, illustrators, publishers, storytellers, academics, budding scholars and many other disciplines manifested by enthusiasts of fairy tales.
What AFTS specific items are included on the conference agenda?
- Annual AGM
- AFTS communal quilt project
- 2018 Australian Fairy Tale Society Award Presentation (which honours a person who has significantly contributed to Australian fairy tales, through literature, academia, art, or performances. Nominees for this year’s award include authors Dr Kate Forsyth and Kevin Price, and Australian fairy tale expert Dr Robyn Floyd.)
- Milestone Membership Celebration
What is the cost? There are two parts to the conference this year! A free-to-public segment with the registered guest conference presentations following.
Free-to-public segment noon-2pm is free.
It is interactive and family-friendly, featuring a fairy tale garden tour, puppet show with Frank’s Fantastic Fairy Tale Theatre, presentation on ‘The Language of Flowers’ and storytelling with Thrive Story. [PSSST! Come in costume - we dare you! Fairies love giving prizes for magical things like the maddest hat, most abundant garland, leafiest cloak and jumpiest boots!]
Remainder of conference (9am to noon + 2pm - 5:15pm) is for registered guests:$95 Full Price
$85 AFTS Member Discount conference + membership
OR
Registration for Conference ONLY:
$65 AFTS Member Discount conference only
$85 Friends of Royal Botanic Garden, or Students
Botanical explorer, natural history author and artist Cheralyn Darcy will talk to us about the 'Language of Flowers in Fairy Tales'. |
What if this small press shifted its focus to forgotten tales from folklore and fairy-tale retellings?
Monique Mulligan, Editorial Director of Serenity Press
tells a story of serendipity and shares upcoming projects.
|
Morgan Bell will teach us how to Interpret Evil Plants. 'Sproutlings: A Compendium of Little Fictions' constructs new plant-based fables and folklore; and anthropomorphising botanical malice. |
Monique Mulligan, Lorena Carrington & Kate Forsyth tell the story behind the creation of Vasilisa the Wise & Other Tales of Brave Young Women at this year's conference. |
Poster by J. Weston Lewis |
In pre-Revolutionary Paris, a young girl is promised in marriage to a Duke to pay off her father’s debts. She flees to the literary salon of her late mother’s friends: aristocratic women who conceal radical politics within reinvented folk tales. Which of them is her fairy godmother, and which the cruel stepmother? Is the Duke a Prince Charming or a Beast? And is the maid just a maid, or the hero of a story none of them knows they are in?
The Salonniéres by Liz Duffy Adams
Cast: 5
Genre: comedy, drama, period, politicalKeyword: revolution, feminism, Fairy Tales, France, strong female leads
In pre-Revolutionary Paris, Madeleine, a girl fresh from the convent, is promised in marriage to an older nobleman to pay off her father’s debts. She flees to the literary salon of her late mother’s friends, aristocratic women who conceal radical politics within reinvented folk tales. When her promised husband shows up too, the women must use their wits to save Madeleine. But in the end, the maid Françoise is revealed as the real hero of a story they didn’t realize they were in.
Jordan Elizabeth Henry:
29 Apr. 2018“ This wonderful period piece blew me away with its accessibility, its honoring of story, its depth of character, its crazy-high stakes, and its charm. The ending made me want to stand up and shout; I had fiery grateful feminist tears in my eyes. THE SALONNIERES is full of humor, horror, and badass women. I'm obsessed. ”
Kristen Palmer:
22 Oct. 2017“ This play is so sharp. I got to hear it read recently and it soared off the page and into my head. It's a wonderful play for the moment - and puts the male canon firmly into the hands of the too long over looked women of its era - with the revolution rumbling just outside the door. ”
"The faithful giant could think of nothing better to do than to set the carriage on his head." Illustration from "Poucinet" (Finnish) from Last Fairy Tales by Édouard Laboulaye, Mary Louise Booth |
"Our fondness for fairy tales, their popularity in all social classes, stems from their profound truths that can be glimpsed from the diverse human conflicts depicted in the narratives and the insistence on social justice. They attract us because they contain what we lack: social justice and characters who struggle and demand to live in truth. In many ways, fairy tales with their metaphorical allusions are more truthful than so-called realistic stories because they are generally endowed with a sense of social justice that we do not find in our societies. The formation of the genre fairy tale is predicated on the collusion and cooperation of people from different social classes and backgrounds and the retelling, and rewriting of tales that are ageless and relevant to people’s lives.
"In my own work, almost from the very beginning of my research, I developed a strong predisposition to discover and preserve the works of neglected writers and storytellers who have sought to pierce the spectacles and illusions created by the reigning forces of culture in their respective countries. To my mind, these writers and storytellers have offered alternative ways of thinking with fairy tales that have excited me and given me the courage to try to live and work in truth. Most recently I have encountered three nineteenth and early twentieth-century European authors whose works address present-day conflicts and demand that we rethink how to deal with tyranny that has raised its ugly head in too many places in today’s world. Their truths are at the center of my talk."
Dear Tahlia,
Thank you for submitting your Snow White retelling to Timeless Tales. After reading it and carefully considering, we will not be publishing it. However, I really enjoyed your unique premise (Psyche is my favorite Greek myth!). Although your writing style is strong, I felt like your protagonist Vanessa was underdeveloped and the romance was mostly told from Eros' perspective. I wanted to see more of her personality and agency come through.
Best of luck to you finding a home for it elsewhere and thank you so much for sending it our way. We certainly encourage you to submit for our next issue.
Our next theme is still TBD, but we often decide themes by letting our readers vote. To be notified when polls open for our next theme, subscribe to our newsletter via our homepage.The newsletter will also send you occasional Timeless Tales updates and information about submission windows.
Thank you so much!Tahlia Merrill Kirk