WokeTales - Woke Folktales Vipul Sharma

The Golden Valley is a Sicilian story, taken from Ruth Manning-Sanders’ collection A Book of Monsters. One royal family locates the natural phenomenon of their dreams: a whole valley of gold. This is a story of a king and queen who are wonderful parents, three brothers who love each other, and a monster who loves a golden architectural flair. Sometimes gold is just pretty, and a monster can become the best friend you’ve ever had.

‘Gretel in Darkness’ is a 1975 poem by Louise Glück exploring trauma. The poem is a dramatic monologue spoken by Gretel, the little girl from the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel. In the poem, Gretel directly addresses the readers/listeners and Hansel, and offers her intimate thoughts reflecting on how she is haunted psychologically by the memory of the witch she killed, in order to save herself and her brother Hansel.

The Ebony Horse is a story from the Arabian Nights, also known as the One Thousand and One Nights. The tale borders on being ‘science fiction’ before the genre existed. It sees a cunning inventor design an ebony horse which is capable of flying. A prince uses the horse to travel to other lands, where he falls in love with a princess. It is an entertaining tale, full of adventure and love and danger and suspense.

The Red Pearls is a Chinese Fairytale with a familiar set-up of love, magic, and immortality but takes a delightfully unexpected approach. It is a story of Liu Hai and Ninth Sister and how they have each other’s back and support each other. There’s a golden toad to stir things up but tune in to find out who’s side the godly magic is on.

The Lion, the Tiger, and the Eagle is a Greek fairy tale from the Ruth Manning-Sanders collection Damian and the Dragon. It is a story of three brothers and three sisters and how their father’s dying words chooses their marital destiny.

The Lass Who Went Out at the Cry of Dawn is a story from Sorche Nic Leodhas’ collection of Scottish folk lore, Thistle and Thyme. This is a story of a girl who goes on an adventure to rescue her sister with an unconventional weapon, thanks to her farsighted parents.