Showing posts with label myth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label myth. Show all posts

Friday, July 5, 2024

Running Wild With A Writing Exercise: Your Turn!

As mentioned in an earlier post, HAWAII FICTION WRITERS members participated in an entertaining and educational project involving the creation of fractured fairy tales. The anthology, compiled to raise money for local libraries in Hawaii, is entitled KISSING FROGS and other Quirky Fairy Tales. 

Frogs are well represented in such tales as the eponymous Kissing Frogs; Frog Prince Wants a Condo; and The Kindred Frog. Some tales are a bit more unconventional, quirky to be precise. Examples include: Jack and the Beanstalkers; Why Were the Brothers Grimm?; and Hansel, Gretel, and the Food-Challenged Witch.

One of my tales easily falls into the "quirky" category. The story employs details from various tales of Snow White, details concerning the methods in which the queen attempts to eliminate Ms. White - diabolical plans that included ordering the huntsman to cut out the step-child's heart; then resorting to poison, and finally asphyxiation. And while Snow White is forever associated with the lives of seven dwarfs, my story has Detective Whitey Snow focused on the demise of seven corpses. 

Available at Amazon.com

In the opening lines of her FOREWORD to the anthology,
Cultural Mythologist Jane L. Mickelson poses the questions: 

"What is the relationship between ancient myths and retold fairy tales? When does a myth morph into a fairy tale? And at what point is the fairy tale turned inside out to become “fractured” or “retold”? 

She continues in this following excerpt: "In one sense, all myths, fairy, and folk tales, as we know them now, are retold. They arise out of oral tradition and are passed along by memory, which inevitably puts new spins on their telling, to match the cultural environment in which they’re told. From the sacred to the profane, nothing seems outside the permissible."

Would your version of a fractured fairy tale lean toward romance, comedy, mystery, or a completely different genre? Pick a well-known or even an obscure fairy tale and let your imagination run wild writing a whole new (fractured) version. 

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Friday, February 19, 2021

'Ulalena - Cruising on a Sea of Words #AlohaFriday

The Hawaiian musical production, 'Ulalena, is a beautiful presentation I have seen more than once over the years. The word 'ula is Hawaiian for red, and lena means yellow. Red and yellow are the colors of Hawaiian Royalty, of the kings and queens of the monarchy. 
My assumption was that the name of the musical production was chosen for this reason. 

On stage with acrobatic cast member
following a production of 'Ulalena

Soon, however, I learned that the word 'ulalena means so much more - as depicted in the musically-rendered historical production presented at Maui Myth and Magic Theater in Lahaina.

Creation and healing are demonstrated in vibrant color and dance. Once seated in the theater, you are welcome to sit back and experience the local legends as music and dance transport you to a bygone era and a uniquely different lifestyle on the winds of 'ulalena. 

With cruise ships in hiatus and flights to Hawai'i restricted in 2020 and 2021, and the musical shut down, you may want to enjoy one of these videos: Ulalena Maui production - Bing video

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