Misadventures in the Land of Fables #77
~~~ Another fable inspired by an illustration. This time a watercolour, most likely from a Chinese natural history collection. The first thing that struck me was the number of insects the spider had caught. What a haul! What a feast! I don’t know the quantities a spider needs to survive but this spread would seem […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #76
It must be two years since I wrote a version of Aesop’s ‘The Frogs who wanted a King’. A few days ago I saw this illustration (above) from a trading card in the mid-1920s. It must have been inspired by the same fable and it prompted me to produce another of my own, with the […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #75
ON ILLUSTRATING ~~~ When I write a new version of an old fable I can usually find a vintage illustration or three to add some visual appeal to my commentary. For an original, it’s not so easy. I can source an image of the animal protagonist—there’s a tradition of highly aesthetic, scientific illustration to draw […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #74
James Thurber’s ‘Further Fables For Our Times’ James Thurber’s second volume of modern fables offers more of the same whimsical, witty, and remarkably wide-ranging short narratives. Entertaining, but for those who like their fables to strike a more serious tone the collection is disappointing. Nothing sticks, nothing much. I was amused to see a version […]
Misadventures in the Land of Fables #73
James Thurber, ‘Fables For Our Times’ A few weeks ago I picked up a two volume collection of works by James Thurber, ‘Vintage Thurber.’ Among these works were the ‘Fables For Our Times.’ These were very nice. Fantastic, in the superlative if not the ‘wildly imaginative’ sense of the word. Where Ambrose Bierce is cynical […]
Aphorisms #5
~~~ “Those born into brambles find a world full of thorns.” ~~~