To tell or to retell?

If you know anything about Mythological Africans, you know we love folktale retellings around here. My first book, The Runaway Princess and Other Stories, is a collection of prose and verse retellings of folktales about girls and women from across the continent. I think retellings create space for us to see from other perspectives, especially those of individuals, communities or ideas which, historically, have been demonized, marginalized or otherwise excluded from mainstream narratives.

That being said, I believe there are times when retellings are not necessary, when a myth or piece of folklore deserves to be told in its original form with no attempt to reinterpret, reclaim, refute, or resolve any of its contradictions so they make sense to or become more palatable to modern audiences.

Check out the episode to hear more on why I believe this!

The practice of language among indigenous peoples would seem to carry a very different significance than it does in the modern West. Enacted primarily in song, prayer, and story, among oral peoples language functions not simply to dialogue with other humans but also to converse with the more-than-human cosmos, to renew reciprocity with the surrounding powers of earth and sky, to invoke kinship even with those entities which, to the civilized mind, are utterly insentient and inert.

— David Abram

David Abram’s “The Spell of the Sensuous” is required reading for MA School!

We still love retellings though!… Here are some recent favorites:

• Queen Pokou: Concerto for a Sacrifice by Veronique Tadjo. You can also listen to an MA episode about this book here and read about the historical Abraha Pokou here.

• Circe by Madeline Miller. Read about Circe.

• Kaikeyi: A Novel by Vaishnavi Patel. Read about Kaikeyi.

• The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. Read about Briseis.

• Neferura by Malayna Evans. Read about Neferura (or Neferure).

References

• The Spell of the Sensuous: Perception and Language in a More-Than-Human World by David Abram (page 50)

Meanwhile…

You already know “The Watkins Book of African Folklore” or the “Mythological Africans Book”, is now available for preorder! Click image for preordering options!

Not ready to preorder? Tell someone about the MA Book!