Category: Uncategorized
-
Maybe Having BEEN a Child is Enough
There’s no question that Roald Dahl’s work possessed fairy tale qualities but he was said to be less than enamored with children. One has to admit that he loved to see youngsters embroiled in mischief and danger up to their…
-
Get By With a Little Help from Your Friends
One of the most beloved of Grimm’s fairy tales touts the power of ingenuity by unlikely companions. A rooster, a cat, a dog, and a donkey save the day in this classic. Their honorary statue still stands in Bremen today.…
-
Fairy Tales Do Not Need Castles
The best fairy tales and fantasy stories are not found exclusively in medieval settings. Some modern fantasy tales embody the meaningful themes of the classics. Guillermo Del Torro has always had an eye for this unique magic, e.g. THE SHAPE…
-
Keep Them Secret, Keep Them SAFE
Trader Joe’s Cashel Bleu Cheese Irish Potato Chips. DON’T TELL. 🤫 If you see another customer going for a bag, point in a different direction, say, “Oh my gosh! A WILDEBEAST in the store!” … then grab ALL the chips…
-
Only the Toad Can Tell
What’s the difference between a fairy tale, a fable, and an allegory? It just might be a ravenous toad living under an oak. But check out Guillermo Del Toro’s achingly wondrous classic, PAN’S LABYRINTH, to get a potential look at…
-
Tolkien on Escape …
Tolkien’s glimpse into the escapist value of literature was never more acute: “I do not accept the tone of scorn with which ‘escape’ is now so often used. Why should you be scorned if, finding yourself captive, you try to…
-
Noomi Rapace Steps In and Out of a Fairy Tale with Dark Allure
Folklore and fairy tale enchantment meet with powerful effect in YOU WON’T BE ALONE, one of the most haunting films I have seen in recent times. Filmed by an international consortium of creative teams in Macedonia, this artful story unfolds…
-
Speaking of Myths and Legends
Amazon Prime is currently showcasing series adaptations of two epics: MERLIN + THE ODYSSEY. Both productions hail from the late 1990s and feature all-star casts. The first is charming, the other is quite silly. Highlights and lowlights: The incandescent Isabella…
-
The Whimsical Science of Pseudonyms
Keep your ears open, writers who are pondering a nom de plume for their literary offerings. Ideas can come from unexpected and even whimsical sources. The great Samuel Langhorne Clemons, for example, was once a steamboat captain on the mighty…
-
Little Teases, Lots of Work
Visitors will note that the look of the official site is in the throes of considerable change, but a teaser is provided amid the ongoing work—the cover of my upcoming March 2025 novel, THE WEDNESDAY BOX (Treehouse Ladder Press), can…
Jonathan Kieran 