In this lively workshop we talked out both the childhood memories we have of fairy tales and the fact that they are very often pretty dark or violent or strange.
Our opening poem was by Paula Bohince, A Children’s Story
This poem tackles the complexity of such tales head on, beginning: ‘Again, an ousted child or orphan happens onto a den.’
Taking a slightly different angle, our next poem, by Sherod Santos, thinks about angels. It starts with a direct and provocative question:
Except as they’re portrayed in fairy tales, feather-
weighted, with a magic wand,
or in religious paintings,
their inwardness upon them, scattering blessings
like flower petals,
or fitted in armor with a flaming sword,
I’ve never understood what angels could possibly
do for us,
or what they could possibly want.
You can read the full poem here: The Afterlife of Angels
Our third poem, again by an American writer, Kiki Petrosino, ‘Nursery’, returns to the theme of childhood and to the threat that is often lurking in fairytale scenes:
We recommend you listen to Petrosino reading the full poem.
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