penmage | (no subject)

Contained within Jack Zipes's Don't Bet On the Prince:

...And Then the Prince Knelt Down and Tried to Put the Glass Slipper on Cinderella's Foot
by Judith Viorst

I really didn't notice that he had a funny nose.
And he certainly looked better all dressed up in fancy clothes.
He's not nearly as attractive as he seemed the other night.
So I think I'll just pretend that this glass slipper feels too tight.

::giggles:: I read this in the Jack Zipes book this morning and was amused. It reminded me of my own fairy tale poems, particularly "So He Kissed Me". I highly recommend Don't Bet On The Prince to all fairy tale fans - some of the contemporary fairy tales within made me grin. I particularly recommend Petronella, Prince Amelic, and The Princess Who Stood On Her Own Two Feet. ::joys:: Of all the evil papers I have to write, at least my Children's Lit paper is fun. It let me to discovering the extensive section our library has on myth, folklore and fairy tales. Who knew?

Next selection is from Robin McKinley's Deerskin. I love that book passionatly. It's so beautifully written and moving and oh! I love her descriptions. Here's one description that I thought was particularly lovely - Lissar's description of Ossin:

"She remembered him as if he dressed in bright colours: red and geen and yellow and blue. And yet his clothing was usually the drab, practical sort one would want to wear in a kennel, when a puppy might vomit over your lap at any moment; although it was true that he often wore bright shirts under his tunics, or that the tunics themselves had bright cuffs or collars or hems. She also thought of his face and hair and eyes as bright, when in fact he was as drab as his clothing, and his hair and eyes were a dull brown. But his smile lit his dell features as fire lightens darkness; and so when her memory of him startled her when she set her eyes again on the reality, his smile reminded her of what she chose to remember."
-Deerskin, p188

I love her prose. It's so poetically beautiful and - and - she makes me want to write beautiful things. She inspires me. I love that book so much!

And thattis the reading list update for now.