Fairy Tale Review Archive
Once upon a time …
The practice of retelling fairy tales in the form of literary fiction is, if not quite hallowed, certainly established. The great Angela Carter’s revelatory 1979 story collection, “The Bloody Chamber” — a brocaded work of heady sensuality, intelligence and violence — remains the benchmark, but Kate Bernheimer’s Fairy Tale Review and the several excellent Bernheimer-edited anthologies spun off from it carry the standard forward. Those are just some of the more overt homages; Western literature owes as much to fairy tales as it does to Greek myth and the Bible.
-The New York Times
Elegy for a Child Trapped Underground
After the failed attempt to crawl up and out
the long neck of the well, I tried telling
forty seven tarnished pennies about you
Monster, a Meaning
Monstrum: a sign, a portent,
From the Latin, monere: to warm, from
the root men to think.
Salamandrine, My Kid
The twittering machine lies in its crib, rehabilitating its connections.
Pins & Needles No. 46: Elizabeth Frankie Rollins
No. 46: Elizabeth Frankie Rollins Q. What made you decide to submit this particular section from “Seeking Rubilio” to Fairy Tale Review, and not...
Fairy-Tale Files: The Tallow Candle
Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors. Discovered in...
Pins & Needles No. 45: Alicia Rebecca Myers
No. 45: Alicia Rebecca Myers Q. In your final line, “Dear Lord Dear Liege Dear Legs,” you use brilliant wordplay to liken legs to a ruler. Earlier...
Fairy-Tale Files: G’day for a Beast
Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors. The Aborigines have...
Pins & Needles No. 44: Tim Raymond
No. 44: Tim Raymond Q. Why do you think the “heroes are never parents” in stories? Does it relate back to the revelation that responsibility is just...
Fairy-Tale File: Beyond Rock, Paper, Scissors
Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors. What’s a legend...
Pins & Needles No. 43: Elizabeth Gross
No. 43: Elizabeth Gross Q. What drew you to include a fragment by Sappho, the famous Greek poet, who is known for writing about love and eroticism?...
Fairy-Tale Files: Dewey Decibel Systems
Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors. A wailing fairy cast...
Pins & Needles No. 42: Claire Cronin
No. 42: Claire Cronin Q. Fairy Tale Review is interested in non-Western fairy tales, although many of our entries have their basis in European or...
Fairy-Tale Files: Fear Over the Years
Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors. This illustration,...
Pins & Needles No. 41: Elise Winn
No. 41: Elise Winn Q. “After my father left, she’d passed the books down to me. Remember, she said, none of this is true.” How do you see that...
Fairy-Tale Files: Stories Behind the Landmarks
Fairy-Tale Files, published once weekly, feature three variations of a fairy tale chosen by one of Fairy Tale Review’s editors. In the Modoc...
