Scribbled Thoughts

Thoughts on Nikita Gill’s work based on fairy tales

Gill explores many themes and issues with fairy tales within her collection Fierce Fairy Tales & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul. Many of these have given me better insight for my own planned work. Her themes fell into two categories for me: ones I was looking for and expecting, and ones I hadn’t really considered and was surprised by.

The themes I was looking for and expected were: different perspectives in fairy tales and different meanings to the stories.

For different perspectives it usually views the fairy tale from an unexpected idea. For example, Gill’s The Red Wolf has Red Riding Hood as the alpha of the wolves, defending the forest against the woodcutter and his allies, who killed her grandmother and is trying to destroy the forest. Boy Lost explores the idea that Peter Pan and Captain Hook were childhood friends/sweethearts. They promised to be together forever, but Peter left for Neverland. Hook’s love turned to hate.

The Stepmother’s Tale gives background and motivation behind Cinderella’s stepmother. She once had love and hope, but was left widowed with two daughters, forcing her to marry again in order to survive. A hard life made her bitter against innocence and she wanted to erase the naïve-ness from others. This is a theme I have explored myself in the past and loved Gill’s version.

Jack’s Fable Unfalsified has Jack’s mum as an abusive parent. Jack longs to be better and kinder than her, giving away their cow to a struggling woman. He climbs the beanstalk to escape the abuse.

Sea-Witch’s Lament explores the sea-witch past, where she and Triton were in love, but he ended up choosing ruling his Kingdom over her. She never recovered from her first love and banishment.

Also Waking Beauty has Beauty lift her sleeping curse by battling the demons in her soul for a hundred years and learning to love herself. The prince isn’t needed to save her.

For different meanings to the stories there’s Gill’s Fairy Godmother, which explores how the fairy godmother is a belief rather than a real person. It comes from the person’s heart and gives them the courage to forge ahead and help themselves.

The Three Times You Rebuilt Your House-Shaped Heart views the Three Little Pig’s houses as a heart being broken. Each time it’s destroyed it’s rebuilt stronger.

There was one of Gill’s pieces that I couldn’t really categorise, but wanted to mention anyway, because it’s a brilliant idea I wish could be expanded on. The Tale Weaver is about a little girl who befriends the monster under her bed. He is a great storyteller and she enjoys his company, but she can see in his eyes he has done some terrible things.

The themes I hadn’t considered before and was surprised by are: the archaic view of fairy tales, the gender stereotyping and the evolution of fairy tales.

There are different examples for the archaic views of fairy tales. Gill’s Whispers from a Wicked Wood questions the unrealistic good and evil nature of characters in fairy tales. People aren’t all good, children aren’t always innocent, and villains may have genuine reasons and understandable motivations for their actions.

In The Old Days explains divorce wasn’t an option in fairy tales. They were given their happy ending and could never change it, no matter how unhappy they were. Once the prince married his wife he no longer had to woo or charm her, because she would never be able to leave anyway. In The Old Days II this is further explored with ways the woman is expected to cope with infidelity and betrayal. She is trapped and must bear it over and over.

Gill tries to counter these ideas with Four Spells to Keep Inside Your Mouth. It argues that the women shouldn’t need a fairy godmother to change their fate, they should use their own words to shape their life. Kiss Of Dread also questions heroines/heroes being pure. It views fairy tales as a person’s future sins that they need to explore and embrace. They are a part of them that can’t be ignored.

The gender stereotyping in fairy tales usually sees women rescued by heroic men. Gill’s Gretel after Hansel points out how Gretel is the one who rescued them, surviving without the help of a man. The Moon Dragon also defies this pattern. The princess is given a choice: to grow up as a perfect daughter and wife, or to be given magic. She chooses magic. She is not guarded by a dragon, she is the dragon. She rejects the prince who comes to save her, declaring she won’t be defined by a male-dominated society.

Gill also explores the default personality fairy tale characters are given. Good to the core but naïve and meek. Princess Plain highlights how cruel and scary women are towards each other, especially if they are prettier. Why Tinkerbell Quit Anger Management looks at how a woman’s emotion and anger can change the world and shouldn’t be ignored or suppressed.

Gill looks at the stereotype for men too. Man Up Hercules looks at the expectations of men and emotions. They are strong, they must ‘man up’ and express only anger, never tears. This leads to many depressive and suicidal situations.

The evolution of fairy tales gives them a modern twist or tries to modernise them. For example, Gill’s The Woods Reincarnated has the forest/woods of traditional fairy tales transforming into modern day settings. Girls need to be street-smart, but don’t always outwit the evil around them. The Trolls looks at the idea of mythical trolls going into hiding and re-emerging as modern day internet trolls to seek vengeance on humans. They continue to impact our lives, whether as real monsters, or through monstrous actions.

Reading Nikita Gill’s Fierce Fairy Tales & Other Stories to Stir Your Soul has given me many themes and ideas to consider for my fairy tales and poetry project. There are more issues to explore than I first realised, and I feel reading more fairy tale poems and academic research will help me identify some of these ideas myself when reading fairy tales. I also want to explore the idea of modernised fairy tales in greater detail.

Reference List

Gill, Nikita. (2018), Trapeze, The Orion Publishing Group Ltd, Hachette UK.

Tick On

Found another old poem I’d forgotten about. It needs a lot of work, but I’m posting it so it doesn’t get lost again.

I wanted to be a stop watch

when I was fed up,

so I could press myself and stop time.

I too, would be in control,

and we wouldn’t be forced into the roles of children.

But time flowed on, and we stayed the same.

Years have passed, time has flown,

attached to bird’s wings,

and the children have grown away,

tasting the world.

So now, when I remember that time,

I don’t need to press myself, I can tick on.

Old fairy tale poem found

I just discovered an old poem I wrote years ago, looking at the step-mother in Snow White. I really like parts of it, while others are very awkward and clunky. I’m posting it here so I don’t lose it again, because I want to re-work it at some point.

Ripped up clothes,

whipping lies,

all your truths

wrapped in disguise.

A coat of paint

to mask the stain,

deep-freeze your limbs

to hide the pain.

The truth I see,

the one you hide,

reflected on me,

you can’t abide.

The question you ask,

a familiar ground,

the answer I give

an unknown sound.

Consequences spiral, from

the shock I cause,

you’re no longer frozen,

hesitate or pause.

He dies from subtle poison,

leaving behind a sweet taste.

It’s then you lose your footing,

stumble in your haste.

Your frozen heart has thawed,

emotions begin to stir;

resentment, jealousy, hatred,

all directed at her.

Her childhood was a dream,

compared to what you went through.

Devoted father, servants, and woodland creatures,

who’d sing her to sleep, coo-coo, coo-coo.

No harsh respite

for childish acts,

unlike your parents

who raised with hard, cold facts.

Even after her father’s death,

slow and hard to bear,

her hearts shines through, touching all,

so beautiful and fair.

You ask that question more and more,

tone desperate and lost,

my cruel and honest answer

must decide your fate, no matter the cost.

That heart which touches all she meets,

you order cut from her chest,

but already their love outweighs fear,

and they fail your loyalty test.

Nothing can stop the events that follow,

your jealousy too powerful to stop.

But your methods are too impure to win,

you will never be on top.

And the question you asked me,

that brought about your fall?

‘Mirror, mirror, on the wall,

who is the fairest of them all?’

Poetry and Advertising

Once again while listening to the Poetry Off the Shelf podcast I came across an interesting episode. This one was focused on poetry and/or poets within advertising/adverts.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/podcasts/148281/poetry-and-or-advertising

This is another way some poems have been given a collaboration with music. Some of these are clearly post-collaborations, fitting the music around the poem many years after it was originally published. Some are more modern and done at the same time purposely for the advertising.

It’s not a link I was expecting to find for poetry and music, but it’s a clear example of how both can be used to compliment each other.

Poem ideas

20:83

A coward or a conniver?

All talk or all scheme?

Do you really just brag of braveness,

and whimper when it matters?

Or do you pretend,

in order to achieve the

end you really want?

A way out, and a

reason to do it.

20:84

An invader makes his

territory with a carefree

confidence.

The dog glances up,

meets his gaze, and

turns his head,

continuing to

bark at his bitch.

Poem ideas

20:81

Favours lined with

conditions,

generosity veiled with

threats.

Endless circle of

abuse and love,

spinning round and

round like a hamster’s

wheel, now so fast

its body is flung

out. But, it is

stupid, and desperate,

and climbs right

back in.

20:82

(a possible start for a modernised fairy tail based poem)

Social media, on my phone,

who has the most likes of

them all?

Poetry Live to Tape

One episode of Poetry Off the Shelf focused on poetry being recorded on tape, and the effect it has on the end poem. It features the recordings of Allen Ginsberg, who used a tape recorder to help create his poems. It’s interesting to hear the noises around him that are influencing the poem he’s creating, as well as the music playing on the radio in the background.

The podcast also has the same poem ‘Wichita Vortex Sutra’ at a live performance where he is accompanied by an electric guitar as he reads. This is a perfect example of the poetry and music project I am trying to achieve, and I think it highlights how a music collaboration can help amplify the poem and its meaning.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/podcasts/147017/poetry-live-to-tape

The interviewee, Lytle Shaw, has written a book on the subject of recording poetry. I hope to buy it soon and explore this idea further.

Poetry Out Loud

The Poetry off the Shelf podcast did a feature on the Poetry Out Loud competitions that take place in America. High School students compete by memorising a poem and performing/reciting it in front of a large crowd.

https://www.poetryoutloud.org/

This competition isn’t about writing your own poem, but the ability to memorise others and perform it in a captivating way. I feel this is a useful skill to explore for Poetry and Music. You would definitely need to memorise poems in order to perform, but there’s also the possibility this type of project will require a collaboration, so you’ll have to perform work that isn’t your own.

I am debating opening a Youtube account to experiment/practice in this area. I’d also use it to post any music/poem projects I work on.

Prompt 450

https://www.instagram.com/writing.prompts.re/

(The actual prompt seems to have disappeared off the site, so I’ll just type it out

‘You live in a universe where on their eighteenth birthday, everyone is given a superpower. It’s your birthday and you discover you’ve been given a unique power – the rare ability to turn into an animal nobody has turned into before. You are now a wereworm’

I’ve been trying to write this one for nearly six months. I have no idea why I found it so hard)

It shouldn’t have been a complete surprise really. My parents were were-dragons, meeting in dragon form on a romantic flying cruise across the night sky. It was one of my favourite bedtime stories when I was ten, picturing my future were-dragon power and meeting my soulmate in the sky.

When I was eleven my big brother gained his superpower. It was unique and rare…and ugly. He was a were-wyrm.

We’d all been outside in a nearby field, prepared for Ashley to transform into a dragon. Some of his friends had already turned eighteen and were standing on standby with beers and vodka mixes. It was a warm June night, the sky was clear; the setting was perfect.

Ashley isn’t a shy person, he stripped down to his underwear and urged us to begin a thirty second countdown to midnight. Everyone’s smiles were big enough to crack faces as they counted and backed away, leaving enough room for Ashley’s new form to emerge.

As soon as midnight struck Ashley’s eyes bulged in pain and he clutched his throat. His mouth opened to scream but only a gurgle escaped past his now engorged throat. His whole body bubbled and expanded, a rancid smell rising from the ooze coming off his body.

I don’t know who screamed first but tears of horror were running down my face as my father dragged me and my sister further back.

‘It’s okay. It’s not what we expected but no one dies from the power they gain. Let’s just get back and give him more room.’

The crowd had halved by the time his transformation was complete. In place of my brother was a giant worm-like creature two-cars tall and four-cars long. The end facing us was just a giant circulated mouth filled with razer teeth. I couldn’t see any eyes, just leather-rough skin and two holes for ears on each side.

‘Oh sweetheart!’ Mum gushed, moving closer to my giant, ugly brother, ‘You’re a were-wyrm; that’s so rare! I know it will take some getting used to, but this is an amazing power.’

Ashley the were-wyrm let out a loud rumbling, then turned, sinking his teeth into the ground. Mum moved back again as he disappeared into the ground, leaving a crater behind.

‘He’ll be fine.’ Mum said, confident.

Ashley didn’t return until three days later, exhausted but grinning.

‘It wasn’t what I was expecting, but burying amongst the earth, using vibrations to sense and see everything…It’s amazing.’

Ashley soon set up a successful business setting up contracts with sewer and underground planning. His friends, after the initial shock, considered it the ‘coolest power anyone had, ever’ when they spent one day on Ashley’s transformed back and created an underground, private club.

Ashley may have loved his unexpected form, but it had shattered my dream. The idea of becoming a giant, oozing worm gave me night terrors.

Three years later it was my sister’s turn. Michelle had learnt from Ashley’s mistake and refused a party. We had a quiet meal in before Michelle headed out to the field alone.

‘Is she going to disappear for three days too?’ I asked, looking out the back window. My parents just smiled.

‘She’ll come back when she’s ready,’ Mum said, heading off to bed, ‘And she’ll tell us about it when she wants to.’

Michelle returned at breakfast. She wasn’t excited the way Ashley has been, but she didn’t seem upset either.

‘I’m a were-lizard. I can choose between komodo-dragon size or bearded-dragon size.’ She accepted a plate of full English breakfast and sighed, ‘There’s nothing useful about it at all, but I can live with that.’

Michelle was smart and had always planned to become a doctor. Her new superpower didn’t stop her pursuing that.

Which only left me…

Michelle’s superpower had given me hope of avoiding Ashley’s grotesque form. I thought perhaps I could be a were-dragonfly, so I would still experience flying. It was my most desperate wish.

‘I wouldn’t get your hopes up.’ Michelle said, trying to be gentle, ‘Don’t depend on your superpower to shape your life.’

I tried to listen, but desperate hope is hard to disperse.

Like Michelle I went alone, wearing old clothes I didn’t care about if they ripped. I sat on my knees and tried to calm my breathing as midnight struck. Straight away I felt a rapid shrinking sensation and my vision went dark. My limbs merged into my body and my neck disappeared. All I could do was wriggle.

My mind was nothing but panic, my body thrashing around in confusion until my new animal instinct started to emerge. Burrow. Dig. Eat. Read the vibrations.

It took two weeks for me to return home, where Ashley and Michelle had come to visit, anxiously waiting with our parents. I just stared at the ground as I told them.

‘Wow! A were-worm? I don’t think anyone has had that power, ever.’ Mum gushed.

‘Great.’ I said, deadpan. Everyone stayed silent.

I never bothered transforming a second time.

I never spoke of flying again.