My Dear Students of English 3950: Fairytales and Folk Tales, Spring 2023,
When I first proposed the idea for this course, I knew that I wanted us to create an anthology of your original narratives and artwork. Not only was this approved, but colleagues encouraged my use of creative opportunities to hone your critical analysis skills. So, I stated this objective to create our anthology in our course description. I still smile at recalling your mix of skepticism and enthusiasm when I announced this on the first day of class.
I wanted to do this course and create our collection because I love fairytales and folktales. Growing up as I did in the rural south of Trinidad, that little dot on the map where much of the world meets, some of my fondest childhood memories were those nights we would lose electricity. All of us kids, and some adults, would gather outside around a grandparent to hear tales of long ago: Oral history and living memory merged with vernacular reimaginations of the ancient Indian epics, hadith, Nansi stories, and the tales of Papa Bois, Mama de L’eau, Lajablesse and Lagahoo. We heard of neighbors who were possessed by the Jinn or victims of soucouyant. And this was as real as anything I read in schoolbooks or saw on TV. They were certainly more tangible than what I read in my beloved collection of Grimms’ fairytales, and yet equally magical. Telling tales preserves them; creating new ones keeps the tradition alive. I knew you had tales to tell, including those you had not yet dreamed up.
As we draw to the semester’s close, even now, right now, we are putting the finishing touches on our stories, our illustrations, and creating our website. This is not procrastination, though. It speaks to how creative, ingenious, and professional you are. It speaks to your joy in focusing your imagination and skills to accomplish goals that you cherish. This semester, I have witnessed your brilliance, camaraderie, and determination as we worked our way through our syllabus and through the production of The Fae’s Mirror. And you’ve done this while balancing your other classes, work lives, family obligations, the MTA, and our elevators. Some of you are preparing for graduation, thinking of jobs, graduate school, next steps, next semester, or that much-needed vacation. I do not take for granted the effort, struggle, and commitment that go hand in hand with your genius, all of which you have brought together with such grace to go beyond what a class typically asks of you. You are a gift and a joy to me.
To accomplish this, you wore many hats: You drew from your experiences, inventiveness, and cultural inheritances to write a wonderful diversity of amazing stories. You designed original artworks in consultation with the tales’ authors, performed editorial functions, and oversaw the production schedule. You formed the boards, selected their heads, and many of you pitched in to help wherever it was needed, effectively serving in multiple boards.
Now, to you, individually, my deep thanks and admiration:
Our digital text production team of Katelyn Madera and Cherry Leung!
Our editorial team of Thomas Kmec, Britney Matey, Natalia Flores, Jiajin Liang, and Zena Mohamed!
Our art team of Cherry Leung, Katelyn Madera, Alexandra Adelina Nita, Farah Javed, Analiz Rios, and Mimoza Lekperi!
Our project management team of Natalia Flores, Cherry Leung, Zena Mohamed, and Alyssa Viveiros!
You have my undying gratitude, admiration, and respect.
I hope you had fun this semester. And I hope you now all believe in magic. If you’re ever in doubt about your powers, my beloved Devil Babies, just look in The Fae’s Mirror, which didn’t exist when we first met, and see that you really did spin straw into gold.
Monday 1st May 2023.
Sincerely,
Harold N Ramdass
