Once Upon a Parchment
Dec. 10th, 2024 10:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
davidkmDavid C. Kopaska-Merkel
1300 Kicker Rd
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404
205-246-9346
jopnquog@Gmail.com
Book review
Schimel, Lawrence, 2007, Fairy Tales for Writers: a Midsummer Night's Press, New York, ISBN-13 978-0-9794208-0-1, $6.50 (US), a small perfect bound book with glossy card-stock two-color cover, 30 pages.
13 poems, 12 original. The theme of this book is, perhaps, obvious from the title. These poems all relate in some way to well-known fairy tales and to the writing life.
This is the first book published by Schimel's new press and it looks nice. It's very small; it might get lost on a bookshelf, even one full of chapbooks. I didn't measure it, but it looks like it's about 5 ½ inches tall by 4 inches wide or thereabouts. Also, it isn't for everybody. I think it will really only appeal to writers and perhaps also to fans of modern treatments of fairy tales. Still, the poems are excellent. Schimel is a very good writer and he knows what people are about, whether or not they are writers. His points about humanity are reinforced by his choices of fairy tales. I don't generally like to read about writing or writers; it seems too intellectually incestuous, but this book is different. The poems are music, and I have to recommend "Fairy Tales for Writers."
Here are a couple of examples. It's hard to know which to choose. How about "The Little Mermaid"?
She gave up her voice for him,
learning to mimic the minimalist style
he advocated in his workshops.
Or maybe "Cinderella"
He couldn't find her anywhere.
He asked everyone, tried to track her down:
Who was her agent?
Where had she published?
"The Ugly Duckling"
the uncertainty, the constantly having to tell
the kid to get his nose out of a book and go out
and play like normal children should.
By turns chilling, melancholy, and even uplifting, these poems pack a punch. Don't miss out.
1300 Kicker Rd
Tuscaloosa, AL 35404
205-246-9346
jopnquog@Gmail.com
Book review
Schimel, Lawrence, 2007, Fairy Tales for Writers: a Midsummer Night's Press, New York, ISBN-13 978-0-9794208-0-1, $6.50 (US), a small perfect bound book with glossy card-stock two-color cover, 30 pages.
13 poems, 12 original. The theme of this book is, perhaps, obvious from the title. These poems all relate in some way to well-known fairy tales and to the writing life.
This is the first book published by Schimel's new press and it looks nice. It's very small; it might get lost on a bookshelf, even one full of chapbooks. I didn't measure it, but it looks like it's about 5 ½ inches tall by 4 inches wide or thereabouts. Also, it isn't for everybody. I think it will really only appeal to writers and perhaps also to fans of modern treatments of fairy tales. Still, the poems are excellent. Schimel is a very good writer and he knows what people are about, whether or not they are writers. His points about humanity are reinforced by his choices of fairy tales. I don't generally like to read about writing or writers; it seems too intellectually incestuous, but this book is different. The poems are music, and I have to recommend "Fairy Tales for Writers."
Here are a couple of examples. It's hard to know which to choose. How about "The Little Mermaid"?
She gave up her voice for him,
learning to mimic the minimalist style
he advocated in his workshops.
Or maybe "Cinderella"
He couldn't find her anywhere.
He asked everyone, tried to track her down:
Who was her agent?
Where had she published?
"The Ugly Duckling"
the uncertainty, the constantly having to tell
the kid to get his nose out of a book and go out
and play like normal children should.
By turns chilling, melancholy, and even uplifting, these poems pack a punch. Don't miss out.
