Readers

My recently avid reading (or listening) truly expands my knowledge of all sorts of things. I allow one thing to lead to another.

For instance, I never knew of Celia Paul but ran her down after a mention in a book I was indulging in.

Wish, I could credit it, but off hand want to say it was one of Patti Smith’s memoirs.

I just finished Stay With Me, so I know that’s where I gleaned this tidbit of information. In context, I mentioned this in a discussion of violence in children’s stories. That was apropos Peter & The Wolf, which has some grisly bits.

I want to defend that violence as not being random. It is a wolf’s nature to eat birds.

Back to the tidbit lost in my explanation and defense of the fairytale: Stay With Me had an incidental sidetrack of its own.

Nigerian folk tales are easily as quesy as the German or Russian brand.

I followed a few of these down their own rabbit holes. Stories Nigerians tell their children can also seem too blunt.