“Come away, O human child: To the waters and the wild with a fairy, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.”~William Butler Yeats
The calendar in the Northern Hemisphere may officially designate March 20th as Spring, but the forecast of rain, sleet and snow beginning Thursday and carrying through the weekend makes that difficult to believe. Over the voice of wind and cold I can still here that voice telling us that it is indeed time to once more “come away”.
It is that voice that beckons us to Middle-earth and Newford, that calls out from the gap in the village of Wall and from the world of London Below. It is the voice that packs so much promise into four little words…
“Once upon a time…”
Perhaps you too have heard that voice whispering on the spring wind, or perhaps Old Man Winter continues to drown out the sound; either way that time has come: Once Upon a Time is here!
Thursday, March 21st begins the seventh annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This is a reading and viewing event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through Friday, June 21st and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing whims.
Don’t like the word “challenge”? We have something special just for you.
Come away, and I’ll tell you more…
I have decided on Quest the Second which is to read at least one book from each of the four categories. A few weeks ago I read a review of Bitter Greens by Kate Forsyth, a re-telling of Rapunzel, so this is my choice for the Fairytale category. I have also been meaning to read Ursula le Guin and have found her novel Lavinia as the book for the Mythology read.
As for the other two categories I have no idea what to choose for Fantasy, but it has to be something written by George RR Martin since I borrowed a quotation from him for the title of this blog. So a trip to the library is needed for that one. And for the Folklore I have had Folktales of the British Isles on my bookshelf for a while now (another purchase from Graham York in Honiton), so this seems a perfect choice.
The other joy of finding Once upon a time is that it has led to the discovery of some more wonderful blogs: the Story Girl, a Bookish Way of Life and Terri Windling's site with its wonderful art and extensive archives.So thank you to Carl for the reading challenge and, like so many others who have already commented, I am excited about getting started.
