tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post7656641546255611324..comments2023-11-05T11:28:09.589+00:00Comments on Scribble City Central: Mythic Friday Interview: Number 12 - Nicola MorganLucy Coatshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16774389681477698245noreply@blogger.comBlogger11125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-68306818557646946822010-06-20T23:51:24.115+01:002010-06-20T23:51:24.115+01:00Thankyou for coming over to visit Lucy. I had been...Thankyou for coming over to visit Lucy. I had been planning to talk about something else yesterday - a related something, language loss. I'll get back to it now.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-37752922860478814322010-06-20T19:32:51.303+01:002010-06-20T19:32:51.303+01:00Nicola and Gillian--no fighting over Achilles, gir...Nicola and Gillian--no fighting over Achilles, girls.<br /> <br /><br />Cat--you HAVE written a marvellous essay on the subject. That's a great blogpost, which I really enjoyed, and anyone who is interested in this debate should go and read it at http://thereandbackbytricycle.blogspot.com/2010/06/there-are-stories-you-should-not-tell.html<br />I'd just like to mention a couple of things you said here because I think they hit the nail on the head. Firstly, you say: "The story has to be consistent with the original. In other words you have to honour the story - and the culture it comes from. Greek myths and legends, Norse myths and legends, Celtic myths and legends are all part of our received culture. We can use them but we still need to honour the story." Indeed we do. I do not take lightly the task of retelling. Because I retell for children, there are certain difficulties--which I have talked about here and elsewhere--to do with certain things within the original tales such as adultery, incest, rape, bestiality and so on. So my way of honouring the story is to go to the heart of it, to take the kernel of its meaning and tell it in a responsible way for the age group of the children who will be reading it. Later, they may want to read more and discover the original tales for themselves. With the Celtic tales--well, they are my own heritage, and honouring them is second nature. I think what is key here is the word essence. To honour these tales, we must respect the essence of the myth above all else. I’ve based characters in my novels on mythological beings—they are part of the story I have created—but their essence is always true to the originals.<br /><br />Secondly, you say: "A society without myths and legends is a society without a past and it is a society without a future. If we do not use myths and legends in an honourable fashion or if we ignore them then they will come back to bite us. They are part of our past. We have to use the past to understand the present and prepare ourselves for the future." One of the greatest things about myths, in my opinion is that they teach us lessons about life—about those archetypes of humanity which are eternal and which repeat throughout our history. We need to learn those lessons—like the lessons which history has to teach—or they will indeed come back to bite us.<br />Thank you so much for contributing to this debate—I really appreciate your taking the time and trouble.Lucy Coatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774389681477698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-66488252725318197982010-06-20T00:28:45.348+01:002010-06-20T00:28:45.348+01:00Lucy, if you have time, head on over to my blog......Lucy, if you have time, head on over to my blog...I tried to explain a little more. Catcatdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-75905863261045131042010-06-19T23:40:32.246+01:002010-06-19T23:40:32.246+01:00I could write an essay on the topic but, as I see ...I could write an essay on the topic but, as I see it, you can retell the story of a myth or you can use the myth to tell a story.<br />If you do the first thing then you have to honour the story and the culture it comes from. If you do the second then you need to acknowledge, at least to yourself, that this is what you are doing - so that you can break free and create something new. <br />Sorry, that is probably too brief to make sense. Does it help at all if I say that, living in Australia, I would not use a story from the Dreamtime of the indigenous Australians in either way...they are not mine to use.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-52013329856498391992010-06-19T11:05:52.015+01:002010-06-19T11:05:52.015+01:00Gillian - I'll fight you for him!!
I think it...Gillian - I'll fight you for him!!<br /><br />I think it's really hard to explain why myths are so important. I suppose it's that they bind us together, and that they show the eternal human condition. They are also so accessible - whereas Shakespeare (who, of course, uses lots of the myths) is hard to read and hard for many people to "get", anyone can enjoy reading or listening to the myths.Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-73781619265030763242010-06-19T10:53:51.896+01:002010-06-19T10:53:51.896+01:00Achilles is my favourite boy too! Oh dear, I confe...Achilles is my favourite boy too! Oh dear, I confess I'm really very fond of him, for all his faults and his VERY bad temper. I'll never forgive Brad Pitt for 'Troy'...<br /><br />Really enjoyed this interview, Lucy & Crabbit :-)Gillian Philiphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17775401199564200537noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-53656757355388862582010-06-19T10:49:38.405+01:002010-06-19T10:49:38.405+01:00That yurt is indeed going to see some serious part...That yurt is indeed going to see some serious partying, oh Lovely Crabbit! <br /><br />Jo--BOTH Ajaxes are boors and bores. You are so right about the plotting thing. Every time we use the Hero's Journey in any form, it leads straight back to myth, whether from Greece or any other culture.<br /><br />Cat--I appreciate the paw print, and am sure the Crabbit One does too. But I'd like to hear more about why you think myths can come back to bite. That sounds really interesting...can you tell us more about your experience with this? <br /><br />Nicola K (and Jo again)--it's good to find more who agree about WASTED's brilliance. Go thou out there and preach to the masses who haven't heard of it yet!Lucy Coatshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774389681477698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-58785676479580459132010-06-19T00:16:53.640+01:002010-06-19T00:16:53.640+01:00Loved this interview. I am very fascinated by myth...Loved this interview. I am very fascinated by myths and legends and loved the way Nicola used Oedipus in Wasted, which incidently is an awesome book - the best book I have read for a long time.Nicola Kimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15646981662772854646noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-32008496113923783302010-06-18T23:50:54.770+01:002010-06-18T23:50:54.770+01:00Just to prove to the COB that someone has looked a...Just to prove to the COB that someone has looked at this (so she can stop complaining on Twitter) I am putting a cautious paw print on the page. <br />Thankyou for the insights. (Definitely worth the bubbly and biscuits!)<br />Myths fascinate me but I think we need to re-use them cautiously. They can come back to bite.catdownunderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06959328192182156574noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-41642452231359375652010-06-18T23:39:08.330+01:002010-06-18T23:39:08.330+01:00Wonderful interview with my favorite crabbit (but ...Wonderful interview with my favorite crabbit (but only half as bad as she thinks she is) author. I heartily second the brilliance of her new book WASTED. <br />Although I can't point to specific ways that the myths have influenced my own writing (oh except for a never-to-be published sequel which had gorgons), I am sure that it's in there. The whole quest, heroic adventure plot owes everything to them. The flawed hero, tragic themes, all of that.<br />Although I did not like him because of his arrogance, I agree that Achilles is a very interesting character, more nuanced than Ajax for instance who is just a boor.(And a bore).Odysseus is still my personal favourite because he endures and is faithful and although he is an adventurer he just yearns to get home.Jo Treggiarihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02417288480274268189noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4478585016269977581.post-44775234337416421682010-06-18T14:42:56.181+01:002010-06-18T14:42:56.181+01:00We will indeed partake of the sparkly stuff togthe...We will indeed partake of the sparkly stuff togther in the magical yurt! And I am very much looking forward to it. Thanks so much for doing this interview - you took me right back to my childhood (and reminded me how much I'd forgotten of the myths, too).Nicola Morganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12189894289540344094noreply@blogger.com