As a child who grew up immersed in fantasy fiction, I knew, as deeply as I knew anything, that these books put me in touch with something that was deep and true. As I grew up, of course, I learned that I had to move beyond fantasy just as I had to move beyond childhood. […]
Tag Archives: fantasy
Fantasy Provides Aid for Life’s Storms
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Eve of St. Agnes, John Keats, Sigmund Freud, Tempest, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Prospero’s Magic, a Model for Fantasy Lit
“The Tempest” fits magically into a fantasy course.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged black magic, magic, Science, Tempest, white magic, William Shakespeare Comments closed
Fantasy’s Special Insight into Reality
Fantasy literature becomes something different after the world ceased believing in magic.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Don Quixote, J. R. R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, Miguel Cervantes Comments closed
Fantasy to the Rescue in Hard Times
Byatt’s book “The Children’s Hour” demonstrates many of the uses of fantasy.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged A. S. Byatt, Alices through the Looking-Glass, Children's Book, Lewis Carroll, trauma, World War I Comments closed
Epiphany Sunday and the Arabian Nights
The Christian Feast of the Epiphany and the Arabian Nights come together in a fanciful Scott Bates poem about the three wise men passing through Baghdad on their way to see Jesus.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Arabian Nights, Christianity, Epiphany, Religion, Scott Bates "Tales of an Arabian Night" Comments closed
Jane Austen Can Change Your Love Life
“Jane Austen Book Club” makes the point that great literature can in fact change your life.
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged Book Clubs, Film, Jane Austen, Jane Austen Book Club, Lost in Austen Comments closed
Harry Potter, Teenage Hero’s Quest
During Christmas week we get to imagine being children again so I’ve decided to write about student responses to Harry Potter. Members of my British Fantasy Literature class could write essays on any work of fantasy as long as they applied the tools and perspectives we developed in the course. Michelle Steahl and Evan Rowe […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged adolescence, Harry Potter, J. K. Rowling, Joseph Campbell Comments closed
Fantasy Portals to Other Worlds
I have a special place in my heart for The Magician’s Nephew, chronologically the first of the Narnia series. When I was a child, I was especially fascinated by “the wood between the worlds.” This is a quiet forest in which can be found innumerable pools, each of which is the entrance to a world. […]
Posted in Uncategorized Also tagged C. S. Lewis, Laura Miller, Magician's Book, Magician's Nephew, reading Comments closed
