Book seventeen of my 2019 Reading Challenge.
Nikita Gill’s Fierce Fairytales: Poems & Stories to Stir Your Soul
Keeping with the poetry theme, I decided to put a couple of books of poetry on hold at the library and of course all three came at once and I’m loving reading them all. This particular book is the best of both worlds because it includes both poems and short stories.
Gill’s take on classic fairytales is unique and gives the meaning to the stories a whole new perspective. I honestly couldn’t put this book down because I wanted to keep reading the different adaptations of the stories I’ve know since I was a child.
The interpretation of each story wasn’t just different from the classic tale. It told the story with elements of today’s societal flaws in between the lines. A lot of modern poetry has deeper meaning and tells a story that many can relate to and these certainly did. I found the poem below in particular to be very powerful.
If you ever want to have
Two Misunderstood Stepsisters
a look at the way a word
can totally demean and destroy
the entire worth and value of a woman
just look at what the word ‘ugly’
did to Cinderella’s two stepsisters.
Even though there are only a few words in the poem it talks about something millions of women can relate to. It also speaks on a historical literary level. Almost every young girl has read, been read or seen the classic fairy tales so isn’t it possible that the literature we read to entertain and excite creativity also perpetrates a sense of demeaning oneself? It’s certainly something to ponder.
This book of poetry was not only a fantastic read, but also encouraged a new way of thinking about the classic tales we all loved as children. I highly recommend the collection to anyone that loves poetry, short stories and the classics. And I encourage those of you that read the book to think a bit more about the stories’ meaning.
Stay tuned for the next review: Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by podcast queens Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark.
Kelsey (KJ) Fagan 
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