The very cool Jeana Jorgensen – folklorist, professor, dancer, and sex educator – has published a gorgeous collection of her fairy tale themed poetry in her new book The Thorn Key!
I love Jeana’s academic work. Her books Fairy Tales 101 and Folklore 101 are amazing introductions to both studies, teaching its readers a TON in a way that is fun and conversational. I should have reviewed those here LOL! If you have been interested in learning more about the history and study of fairy tales, or “what makes something folklore,” those are the perfect books to pick up!
I was very excited to experience the creative side of her brain in The Thorn Key! Her poems explore a wide variety of tales: some of them riff on specific plots, like her queer twist on “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” set in WWII, or her poem imagining a letter written by “The Maiden with No Hands” to the father who uh… chopped off said hands! Yikes! (She explores a lot of trauma but provides all the TWs.)
Other poems explore general fairy tale themes and characters, slotting selkies and witches in contemporary settings and relationships. Many poems seek to reclaim agency for fairy tales’ female characters, but not always in the typical fashion, like in “The Twelve Brothers,” where Jeana explores how a princess cursed with silence might find the silver lining after all the labor of talking women are sometimes forced to endure as caretakers. She also lovingly finds the queerness in some classic fairy tales, like “King Wyvern” and the aforementioned dancing princesses, as well as lesser known ones, like “The Prince’s Servant,” which is based on an obscure Grimm tale. Best part for me is that Dr. Jorgensen and I share the same favorite category of fairy tales: “the king who wanted to marry his daughter.” Weird take, I know, but trust me, those fairy tales are FASCINATING. Dr. Jorgensen included four poems based on those fairy tales! I loved all of them but especially her Donkey Skin’s revenge poem.
On top of it all, it’s a nice quick read with a lot of substance, which is what I prefer in These Days of Constant Anxiety.
The Thorn Key is either from a small publishing house or self-published, I’m not sure, so it’s easiest to find on Shamazon or B&N in ebook or paperback format.
Disclaimer: Dr. Jorgensen gifted me a copy of this book and is a frequent unofficial advisor of mine.