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Genevieve Kierans |
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www.gkierans.com |
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Mirror Mirror (a short story) |
I first encountered the music of Stan Rogers through dance.
Specifically through Morris dancing, which is old English folk
dance that Stan called "delightfully goofy". After a few hours
of heavy dancing, Morris dancers inevitably wind up at the
local (or nearest - they're not particular, so long as it's
licensed) pub. Once refreshed by a pint, or in my case, a cold
Pinot Gris, inevitably someone would begin singing. As
inevitably, someone would call for a Stan Rogers tune -
usually Barrett's Privateers -- but occasionally The Mary
Ellen Carter, or The Idiot, which we had also choreographed a
dance to. I eventually purchased his CDs and they became
favourites of my husband and mine.
I have been trying to get a career as a fiction writer off the
ground. Last year I placed 2nd in the Science Fiction Writers
Of Earth (SFWoE) global short story contest. I knew I wanted
to write something for this year's contest and I knew I wanted
it set in the Montérégie region of Quebec, where I'd grown up,
but had absolutely no ideas beyond that.
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My winning story last year had been inspired by a Canadian folktale so
that seemed the logical place to begin searching for inspiration. I spent
an entire weekend reading poetry, legends and ghost stories while
listening to folk songs - to no avail. I was as dry as a Morrisman without
a pub. Then that Sunday evening, while participating in a Taoist Tai Chi
meditation class, at just about the same moment my feet went numb from
sitting so long in a half-lotus, it came to me. What if the farmer's wife
in Stan Rogers' song "Lies" had a magic mirror? With that thought the
whole story tumbled into my brain. Her name, Marie-Hélène, is a nod at
another Stan Rogers song, "The Mary Ellen Carter". I threw in a dash of
Snow-White and a pinch of barely remembered French Canadian fairytale and
stirred. Mirror, Mirror was born. I submitted it to the Science Fiction
Writer's Of Earth 2003 short story contest and learned it won first prize
in February 04.
I like the idea of weaving our legends and folksongs into my stories. It's
very gratifying to share our culture with a global audience and I hope
this award will bring a new audience to his music. I'm especially tickled
to be acknowledged on this 'legacy' page.
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Judge's Report |
(from
Science Fiction Writers Of Earth)
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Because persistence and faith are such important virtues for aspiring
writers, it's always good to see previous finalists listed again in the
top ten. This year was no exception. It was, therefore, a distinct
pleasure to award first prize to last year's second-place winner,
Genevieve Kierans of Canada. In "Mirror, Mirror," Ms. Kierans once again
visited rural and isolated small-city landscapes and again populated them
with recognizable human beings often trapped in arguably insoluble
situations. In the case of the exhausted housewife and mother in "Mirror,
Mirror," Marie-Helene Carter obtains the enchanted mirror of the title
after she's rescued from a potentially deadly midwinter road accident by a
being who just might be a modern avatar of an ancient Indian nature deity.
In the final analysis, Marie-Helene must attempt to come to terms with
natural aging and the question of possibly wasted potential. It's an
intensely human story, gracefully and empathetically told. If there is a
technical quarrel with the story, it would be with its inspiration in the
song "Lies," created by Stan Rogers in 1981. The author clearly
acknowledges the song, so that's not a problem. The question for writerly
debate is the risk of allowing too much of a separate work to influence a
new piece of original fiction. A risk that always bedevils writers who
utilize a song lyric or a cool epigraph from some other source is that the
reader is tempted to compare the inspiration with the result. Ms.
Kierans's story is a wonderful portrait of a frustrated and questioning
woman; it's debatable whether it needs so much of Stan Rogers's excellent
song to bring it to life. It's a tough call, but worth thinking about for
any writer in like circumstances. But in any case, with or without the
obvious catalyst, Ms. Kierans's protagonist convincingly comes to
breathing, agonizing, deeply affecting life. It's a fine accomplishment. |
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