" Boy, Snow, Bird " - Helen Oyeyemi

Helen Oyeyemi

I intended to write this post sometime ago, when I first heard it on Eleanor Whachtel's, Writers and Company, but the time wasn't right. Feels like the right time now, after having read The Book of Negroes a few months back, written by Lawrence Hill, and has been recently made into ten episode mini-series, which I have been watching and really enjoying. Usually I find the book better than the movie, when books are made into movies, but this series is the exception. The mini-series made the book come alive. Both the book and series are very educational and enlightening to say the least. The factual and fictional story changed and even challenged my ideas about the meaning of racism.

Eleanor Whachtel's guest, author Helen Oyeyemi wrote her own interpretation and re-telling of the fairy tale Snow White, in her book entitled, Bird, Snow, Bird . This book also challenges one's ideas about racism, beauty, identity, and our perception about our reflection that we see in the mirror. The mirror she describes as being a either a clock or a door. This is a wonderful analogy.

Helen Oyeyemi's interest in fairy tales, and story telling is so insightful, and compelling. Story telling, like fairy tales reflect, what it means to be human, based on culture, archetype and stories, that embody the human experiences and struggles with morality.

When I was a little girl I had a birthday party when I turned 10. My mother gave me a Snow White watch, and a small figurine to match.  I loved Snow White so much, and treasured this birthday gift. I would often wish I still had the figurine of Snow White, but I broke it. I don't know why I loved Snow White so much. I think perhaps as a child, she was my ideal of the perfect woman. Wow did I ever get that wrong.

After hearing Helen Oyeyemi's interview, how could I ever again think or feel the same way about the perfect Snow White, which is a relief I must say.

"  I don't feel there's a difference between the real world and the fairy-tale world. They contain psychological truths and, I guess, projections of what the culture that tells them thinks about various things: men, women, aging, dying — the most basic aspects of being human. "

 - Helen Oyeyemi

Kara Walker and Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes

The Book of Negroes is going to be broadcast on television as a miniseries, in  2015.

I recently read  the 2008 Commonwealth Writers Prize-winning book: The Book of Negroes by Canadian writer, Lawrence Hill. I am interested in seeing how the miniseries compares to the book. This book is far from a light read, based on fact and fiction. Regardless, I could not put it down and I think it is an important book for everyone to read, as it gives insight into a part of history that most of us, particularly the white Anglo Saxon population, rather not be reminded of such a shameful and painful past.

I see a parallel between Lawrence Hill's The Book of Negroes, and Kara Walker's art work. Both are factual, and fictional dealing with the historical subject matter of slavery, violence, racism, gender, identity, and the subjugation of one culture over another. These are not "pleasant" topics, none the less, absolutely necessary stories to tell, because if we don't accept, and acknowledge the ugly and shameful parts of our history, it is bound to be repeated and we close ourselves off to change.

Unfortunately, and disturbingly, slavery, exploitation, violence, and injustice is still ever present today, all over the world, and this is the hard reality. For this reason, it is so essential I want to educate myself about history, seen through the eyes of those who have been so unjustly treated, and relate this to still existing injustices, globally.

Getting Lost

All of us feel lost or have been lost at some point during our lives. It can be very disconcerting and even terrifying. It has been my experience that stories can help us to find our way. We may not have the same stories but we relate and identify with the feelings and with what happens. They act as the guide posts.

I've been reading two books, The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill and The Heroine's Journey, by Maureen Murdock. I think they are both about getting lost, and finding yourself in loosing yourself.


After reading this article in Brian Pickings, about a book entitled, A Field Guide To Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit, the stories about getting lost really make so much sense to me. They help me to adjust my attitude, and to be more confident and less anxious, when ever I find myself in this state.

Rebecca Solnit is an amazing person I think, and delves into the grit of life. I listened to her being interviewed talking about her experiences in two of her recent books, Men Explain Things to Me, and last year, The Faraway Nearby.

I think The Field Guide to Getting Lost is particularly relevant to artists. Here's a quote.

" Certainly for artists of all stripes, the unknown, the idea or the form or the tale that has not yet arrived, is what must be found. It is the job of artists to open doors and invite in prophesies, the unknown, the unfamiliar; it’s where their work comes from, although its arrival signals the beginning of the long disciplined process of making it their own. Scientists too, as J. Robert Oppenheimer once remarked, “live always at the ‘edge of mystery’ — the boundary of the unknown.” But they transform the unknown into the known, haul it in like fishermen; artists get you out into that dark sea. "

T and O map by Bartholomaeus Angelicus, 1392, from Umberto Eco's 'The Book of Legendary Lands.'