For a writer so notoriously prolific (closing in on three hundred titles, according to Wikipedia) Jane Yolen is notable for maintaining a high standard of writing across many genres, including poetry, picture book texts, and fiction of both the realistic and fantastic kinds. Her latest novel, Snow in Summer, is a fresh blend of historical fiction and fairy tale, a “Snow White” set in 1930s West Virginia.
Here is an excerpt from an interview The Horn Book Magazine did recently called Five Questions for Jane Yolen. Of those five questions, I especially liked her answer to number 4, so I’ve pasted it below.
4.Do you believe in magic?
JY: I believe there are prestidigitators who can do card tricks and saw-the-woman-in half tricks. I believe there are politicians who can make us believe up is down and wrong is right. I believe there are preachers who try to sell us a mess of pottage.
And then I believe that an owl in flight, a hawk in stoop, an otter rising out of the duckweed, a triple rainbow over the Isle of May, the New Jersey skyline as seen from the Highline in Manhattan on a night of the full moon, the small greenings of spring, honeybees on a blossom, and a newborn’s finger curled around mine are small everyday miracles, another word for ordinary magic. And that I believe in.
Oh — and if anyone can show me a real fairy, or a ghost, or a unicorn, I am so there . . . .
I like what she says about “ordinary magic.” Sometimes in the early morning, when the mist is clinging to the mountain range outside my window, I could believe in almost anything. So what’s your stance on magic? Are you a believer?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
From one of my lovely email subscribers:
“Hi Susan—I believe in magic of the ordinary kind. The gorgeous sunsets in So. California, being called, grandma; the dew on the grass when I fetch my morning paper; Love returned; the smell of the Christmas tree; a neighbor’s hi from across the street; the wonder of books that take you out of yourself and into a new world. These are just a few thoughts about the magic I try to find every day.
I love your posts…thanks. Mary”
I love her answer. Love what she says about politicians and preachers. Love how she says if someone can show her the fantastic she is so there, but until then…
I am the same way. I have a bit of an interest in bigfoot, for example, and find the existence of such a thing a long-shot but plausible, but until someone shows me one in a cage I am a non-believer.
Hi John,
Bigfoot is an interesting possibility, isn’t it? I really liked Jane Yolen’s answer, too. It was a very down-to-earth answer, but she said it with a kind of twinkle in her eye.
C.G. Jung supposedly said that “enchantment” was the first medicine (used by shamans). This intrigued me. I don’t know that “enchantment” is the same as “magic,” but it is interesting to think about.
Thanks for weighing in!
There are definitely things that I don’t understand and that seem magical to me. Top of that list is how my children have created so much love. Seriously, my capacity to love before I had children was one-tenth of what it is now, and every time I look at them, really look at them, I feel it grow inside me even more, and I’m sure as hell not doing it!
Beautiful comment, Sonje. I bet you’re a great mom.
And from another lovely email subscriber. You guys are the best!
“Living in the mountains presents me with magical sites I ignored for so many years. The magic of hundreds of butterflies on the flowers in my yard thrill me. The hummingbirds that magically zip from blossom to blossom, then stop and stare at me before continuing their treasure hunt…talk about magic! The site of a 280ft. waterfall flowing in perfect rhythm..isn’t that magic? Unexpectedly meeting the love of your life on a job interview. That’s real magic! Nancy Purcell”
Nancy is a writer friend of mine locally. Check out her website at http://www.nancypurcellauthor.com