and handsome princes...
So when I came to mark some of the stories submitted to BBC Radio 2's recent 500 word competition, I expected much the same. But how wrong I was!
After reading a dozen of my batch of stories I was still to come across a happy ending.. The subject matter was depressing to say the least. We had murders, family breakdown, lying in a coma, tsunamis and suicides (or, as the young writer put it, 'sewersides')....
Whilst at that age I was wrapped up in the fairy tale world, these children were tackling subject matter which reflects the world in which they live. Is that a bad thing?
I, for one, am not sure. When you think of works by the brothers Grimm and by Hans Christian Anderson, all considered suitable bedtime reading, we were exposed to some pretty horrific subject back then, too.
I wonder then if I'm not looking back with rose-tinted spectacles.... Fairy tales just like real life have their fair share of horror.......
Reality or imagination; take your pick!
4 comments:
How did you come by the wonderful job of doing this marking ?!
(Tell me later!)
It is a shame that children's stories feature such grisly subject matter, but then I do remember as a child myself that lots of my friends were fascinated by ghost stories etc. Personally I was terrified and in fact found Mr Pastry so frightening that I hid behind the sofa when he was on the telly!!
We went yo see a ballet of "Cinderella" a few years ago and there were notices in the foyer saying the production was true to the original story and not suitable for young children. Originally it was about the child abuse that took place when mediaeval parents sent their kids out to work in order to have one less mouth to feed.
Until the age of around eleven it would have been fairy tales. Later I'd have felt the need to shock, but as I had a fairly sheltered existence this would also have come from my imagination!
I had a recurring nightmare that my school had turned into a boat infected with typhoid. I wonder what that dream means?
I'm interested in how you got involved in the project, too.
Jean and Gaynor, I caught an advert back in January on Radio 2 for teachers or librarians to mark the stories and so I applied. I had to get a reference from a colleague and I was accepted. I marked an initial batch of 35 stories and I've a second lot to come in the next day or two. It's been a good experience and I'll certainly do it again next year.
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