Converse - The Two-Headed Serpent and the Brave Boy - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

One of the pleasures of the "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" series is it forces me to examine more closely the many older anthologies that could easily be overlooked.  It's also an opportunity occasionally to discover a bit more about the people who put those anthologies together.

 
Harriet Maxwell Converse is certainly one of those intriguing people.  PBS has two articles on Converse: the first is a fairly straight Biography of Harriet Maxwell Converse, but the second is a more emotional look at her correspondence with Ely Parker, who was the source of much of her Seneca and other Iroquois material. The wealthy white woman writer was adopted into the Snipe clan of the Seneca and even chosen as a Six Nations chief.  Along the way I also discovered more about Arthur C. Parker, who is best known for his own book, Skunny Wundy: Seneca Indian Tales, although that is not his only contribution to helping educate the public about Native Americans.

It's also sometimes tricky to scan some books.  They may be fragile or have been bound with too little space to copy easily.  Today's book has both problems so I had to choose with that in mind.  Fortunately a short story worked around those problems.

Elder Stories (part of How I Spent My Summer)

It's almost a running joke that students are expected to write about "How I Spent My Summer."  Back on May 3 of this year I recognized a sabbatical from my usual storytelling commitments was needed.  While some storytelling did sneak into my schedule, the work that came the closest to being a major change of pace was described this way:

• Most of my work includes research, which is why this blog is titled Storytelling + Research = LoiS.  (Didn't realize, when choosing my title, the "+" and "=" signs would not show up in the address!)  I have begun work on a project continuing through this summer which does not lend itself to posting on these pages.  I will be working with some very special people in Alzheimer's and Dementia groups.  Patient confidentiality prevents my telling the results of this work.  Last summer at the National Storytelling Network conference, I assisted, Liz Nichols in her presentation of the TimeSlips program.  There is a great deal of information about this exciting and fun way to invoke communication and creativity among this very special population without relying on memory.  For yet another view of its use, you might go to Mary Clark's article for NSN's special interest group, the  Healing Story Alliance.  Perhaps you will catch some of the excitement I feel in working on this project! 

Working with Alzheimer's and Dementia patients and their caregivers was a delight!  I want to do much more of leading them in creating stories based not upon memory, but upon what they see.  The sharing and opportunity to have fun with others, added to the maintenance of communication and even creativity, was contagious.  Calling my own version of it "Elder Stories", I offered an assortment of pictures to each group, letting them choose their favorite for each session.  Because I knew history was an interest among some of the members, I used photographs or illustrations that included 20th century and late 19th century.  Norman Rockwell was a favorite.  The stories may have been totally different from what actually happened in a photograph or what the illustrator had in mind.  Doesn't matter.  To paraphrase Shakespeare's Hamlet, The story's the thing wherein we capture the imagination that still exists.

If you know of any group that would like to try Elder Stories and is here in Michigan, please contact me.  Beyond Michigan I suggest the hotlinked resources named above.  It will take longer to develop your own program, but is definitely worthwhile.

On a personal note, beyond the Elder Stories, I also mentioned "a very important personal project in my life" and that "I hope to post more about it later at its successful conclusion."  There was indeed a successful conclusion, but am not yet ready to turn it into a part of my storytelling life.  Storytelling isn't all research or performance, it takes time to process an experience or prepare a story.  This has been one of those projects.  We'll see if it develops beyond my personal life. 

Keeping the Public in Public Domain. . . or not?

Back at the beginning of summer I began a pair of experiments.  One of them was the publishing on Wednesdays and Saturdays a series of stories from books I own that are in the Public Domain.  I chose stories pre-1923 both because they are safe to reprint and I feel strongly about the cultural purpose behind the idea of the Public Domain.  Sometimes I get on my virtual soapbox and complain about how Sonny Bono is in the Great Beyond singing "I Got You, Babe."  I say that because when he left performing and became a congressman, he represented the interests of the Disney corporation, which was about to see Mickey Mouse leave the safety of copyright.  As Wikipedia put it in their article on him: He was one of twelve co-sponsors of a House bill extending copyright.  Although that bill was never voted on in the Senate, a similar Senate bill was passed after his death and named the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act in his memory.

While the claim was made that this just put U.S. copyright law in line with the rest of international copyright law, the litigious nature of U.S. copyright law enforcement easily outstrips international tendencies.  Public Domain became a nightmare of locating renewals and death dates of authors for any works published from 1923 on.  To put it in the words on Sonny Bono's tombstone:  And the Beat Goes On.

For that reason, when starting the Keeping the Public in Public Domain series, I said:
This is part of a series of bi-weekly posting of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories. 

Currently I'm involved in projects taking me out of my usual work of sharing stories with an audience.  My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them.  This fall I expect to return to my normal monthly posting of a research project here.  Depending on response, I will decide at that time if "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my monthly postings. 
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Labor Day marks the time recognized by most in the U.S. as "fall."  This has nothing to do with the recognition of the first day of the autumnal equinox when the sun crosses the celestial equator going southward, rising exactly due east and sets exactly due west.  That will be September 22 at 4:44 p.m.  It won't even be the day a few days later when the day is equally divided with 12 hours of daylight and 12 of night.  All that may satisfy devoted followers of almanacs, nor even the changing of leaf colors, but psychologically the start of school and ending of summer vacations is when fall schedules begin.  I know some areas have school start in August, but tradition and a desire for the last gasp of vacation dollars tends strongly towards using Labor Day as the marker.  It is so strong that Michigan's legislators decreed schools should start after Labor Day.  Not even the changing of leaf colors can be predicted.  I'm convinced Michigan is going to become the Garden Spot of the U.S.  This summer's heat only barely touched our "Water-Winter Wonderland" and we have had many leaves change color quite some time ago.  Fortunately this premature change hasn't included leaves falling.

ENOUGH! you are probably saying.  Schedules change as the start of school seems to make my calendar resemble a carousel going faster and faster with commitments that no longer have anything to do with summer.  

So it's time for me to decide if I should continue the posting of stories.  I've had emails off the blog and comments from friends on Facebook making it clear people have enjoyed the stories.  At the same time I know it sometimes took me away on yet more research.  It's just the way I tend to work.  I still want this blog to include monthly research topics, whether related to the stories or the other topics related to my storytelling.  

I've decided to drop the Wednesday publishing of stories in the Keeping the Public in Public Domain series.  For now I will post on Saturdays in the series unless that week I have other research articles.  I hope this will satisfy all who have found these stories worthwhile.  I include myself in that audience.  At the same time I hope this schedule is realistic.  We'll see.  
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This is my slightly revised series statement of purpose:
This is part of a series of weekly posting of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories. 

At the same time, I'm returning to involvement in projects requiring research as part of my sharing stories with an audience.  Whenever that research needs to be shown here, the publishing of Public Domain stories will not occur that week.  This is a return to my normal monthly posting of a research project here.  Response has convinced me that "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my monthly postings as often as I can manage it. 

Colum - The Building of the Wall - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

Storytellers who make mythology accessible are living treasures.  Back when I headed Children's Services at Mount Clemens Public Library, middle schoolers annually had a Greek mythology unit.  I loved overhearing how their teacher made it as alive as a "soap opera" and without modernizing it.  I teach storytelling, including a method called Word Weaving, developed by Kate Farrell, who discovered the power of storytelling while teaching Greek myths to bored high school students.  She became angry and shouted out, "I WISH I WERE LIKE MEDUSA AND COULD TURN YOU ALL TO STONE!"  Whoa! Her students thought she had flipped out, but they paid attention!  For a modernized version, I enjoy school librarian and storyteller, Barbara MacBride-Smith's storytelling and also her book, Greek Myths, Western Style: Toga Tales With An Attitude, retelling those gods as a bunch of Texas "good ol' boys. . . and gals."

Have you noticed how Greek, to a lesser extent Roman, and even Egyptian mythology because of Egyptian history seem to get more attention than Norse or Celtic mythology?

Padraic Colum, handled Norse mythology in great depth in The Children of Odin -- the source of today's tale.  He also wrote a children's version of the Iliad and the Odyssey and many Celtic legends to retain his knowledge of Irish Gaelic.  He's so well covered online, you may take your choice of his autobiographical sketch posted on The Baldwin Project and some of his writing there or the Wikipedia article about him and the various versions of some of his work at Project Gutenberg.

Taking stories exactly as they are in his book would require filling in background information.  That's more easily done in a live re-telling.  For that reason today's story is from almost the start of the book.  For example I'd love to include more about the trickster, Loki, who is in this story and throughout Norse mythology.

That leaves things hanging, doesn't it?  Just like a "soap", the stories always seem to leave you wanting more.  The next story takes place inside that wall in a garden where the goddess Iduna tended an apple tree whose apples kept the dwellers of Asgard from aging.  Odin and Loki went into the world of men, including the bleak realm of the Giants.  Revenge by the Giants, a barbecue, an iceberg, a volcano, and more trickery involving Loki, will that story slake the thirst for more? 

There are some stories by Colum put into a form of copyright limbo, but fortunately not the stories in The Children of Odin.  In my opinion stories are even more inclined to fit the slogan of Nobody Can Have Just One...nor should they, especially when they are part of our cultural heritage in the world of Public Domain.
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This is part of a series of bi-weekly posting of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories. 

Currently I'm involved in projects taking me out of my usual work of sharing stories with an audience.  My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them.  This fall I expect to return to my normal monthly posting of a research project here.  Depending on response, I will decide at that time if "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my monthly postings.

Cather - The Holy Grail - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

I recall seeing old black breakable records with a dog looking into the horn of a record player. 

Wikipedia's article on the Victor Talking Machine Company gives 4 possibilities of how the name, Victor, was chosen.  The story about the dog, however, is more definite and fascinating.  Look for it in the first section called "Name and Logo."

Today's story dates back to those days of

"His Master's Voice"

The book's title page shows the musical source beyond Katherine Dunlap Cather that accompanies her stories,

but don't worry that the recordings used will be found only in antique stores.  Standard classical musical compositions accompany stories from the Greek mythology of the title story, to an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Emperor's Nightingale", some unusual historical legends, the tale of the Three Kings, Hiawatha, and today's story.  Unfortunately the book is not yet available online, but some of Cather's books, especially about storytelling and its value are.

So many cultural references are contained in today's story of "The Holy Grail", I just couldn't resist it any more than George Lucas could in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" when he sent his archaeological hero out in 1912 to seek the Holy Grail.  Here's the story behind ideas like: Galahad, the Grail, and even Parsifal and Lohengrin.

 

With Tennyson's words and the various Wagnerian music ringing in your ears, it's time to look ahead to the next story.  It comes from a wonderful Irish storyteller, but the book which is his source includes those Valkyrie who fascinated Richard Wagner.  That's not the story I've chosen, but come back for an introductory look into Norse mythology from Padraic Colum.  

By the way, I remember a classical radio station announcer saying they didn't usually play Wagner's "The Ride of the Valkyries" during Rush Hour because people hearing it tended to drive as if they were invincible.  Until our next story, drive carefully and be sure to Keep the Public in Public Domain.

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This is part of a series of bi-weekly posting of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories. 

Currently I'm involved in projects taking me out of my usual work of sharing stories with an audience.  My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them.  This fall I expect to return to my normal monthly posting of a research project here.  Depending on response, I will decide at that time if "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my monthly postings.  

Valery Carrick

Have you ever wondered about the adult success of children of important people?  Author, illustrator, caricaturist, Valery Carrick is an example of what may happen.  His father, William Carrick, came to Russia when only a few weeks old, but left his mark on Russian history and photography by his pioneering photographs of 19th century Russian peasants and workers on the streets of St. Petersburg. The blog, Masters of Photography, also shows many of those photos, such as

and

 

 

 

Three other blogs, Art of the Russias, House of Mirth Photos and Ephemera, and the Facebook blog, Wistorical, tell still more about William Carrick and his work and show further examples of his work.  (Wistorical mistakenly identifies Valery as a female.)  The oft repeated paragraph about the Carrick family says:
Carrick died of pneumonia, at St Petersburg, on 11 November 1878. William Carrick was noted in Russia for his height, which was 6 foot and 4 inches. He had married once, to one Aleksandra Grigorievna Markelova (1832–1916), fathering by her two sons, Dmitry and Valery, whilst adopting her son Grigory from an earlier marriage. He trained Grigory as a photographer, while Valery went on to become a famous caricaturist. His wife Aleksandra, nicknamed Sashura, was a liberal and a nihilist, and for a time the only female journalist at the Peterburskie Vedomosti ("St Petersburg Times").

All articles on William Carrick point out, not only his royal connections, but his work photographing peasants.  No doubt this was where Valery had the opportunity to learn so many Russian peasant tales.  I was surprised to learn that he was part of a Scottish community in Russia.

Back home in Great Britain, Valery's cousin, Oxford professor of Russian and Other Slavonic Languages, Nevill Forbes, produced, among other publications, several elementary Russian readers and translated Valery's first three books, Picture Tales from the Russian (1913), More Russian Picture Tales (1914), and Still More Russian Picture Tales (1915). 

To find actual information on Valery himself, in English online information, we discover he illustrated Rose Fyleman's Widdy-Widdy-Wurkey: Nursery Rhymes from Many Lands, published in England in 1934, then re-published as Picture Rhymes from Foreign Lands, in the U.S. in 1935, and later (1971) as Nursery Rhymes from Many Lands.  He's also included in No. 3 Joy Street.  That and the sentence listing him as the son of William Carrick are all I could find online in English.

Russian author, Maxim Gorky

Only Wikipedia articles originating in his adopted land of Norway and homeland of Russia tell us about him. 

Just as Wikipedia exists in English, it also exists in other languages.  The Russian language Wikipedia has great illustrations from Carrick's Russian Picture Tales, two of his cartoons and this caricature

, 





 It also tells this about Valery Villiamovich Carrick:

Valery Vilyamovich Carrick
Date of Birth:October 30 (November 11) 1869 
Place of Birth:Saint Petersburg 
Date of death:February 27, 1943 (73 years) 
Place of death:Valsta
Citizenship: United KingdomCommons

Valery Vilyamovich Carrick (1869-1943) - Russian children's writer, journalist, illustrator and cartoonist. Son of interpreter AG Carrick and photographer of Scottish descent VA Carrick. (Lois: William is translated Vilyam and that's why what seems to be Valery's middle name is actually his patronymic, Vilyamovich, meaning Son of William.)  Was a British subject, but most of his life in Russia.  He studied at the Academy of Arts from 1882 to 1886.  As a painter and graphic artist came to prominence during the second half of the 1890s.  He exhibited his works at exhibitions since 1903 (Society of Russian watercolors).  In 1905-1906 years worked in the satirical magazine "bogey" and "Goblin", and then was a correspondent for "Bulletin of finance."  Known gallery of cartoons on the Russian writers, politicians, public figures: Gorky, Leonid Andreyev, Bryusov, Andrei Bely, V.Korolenko, A.Kuprin, S. Witte, Stolypin, V. Kokovtsoff, Miliukov , P. Struve, I. Tsereteli, F. Plevako and many others. World renown came with his caricature, "The Tsar and Tolstoy," published in the British newspaper, "Manchester Guardian"  September 5, 1908 (for the cartoon, he spent ten weeks under arrest).  He was engaged in the collection, writing, illustration and publishing tales of different nations of the world, especially Russian. Since 1909, Russia began to appear in his "Picture-Tales."  His caricature of Maxim Gorky was in the magazine "Goblin", 1906.  He made postcards at the beginning of the 20th century caricaturing bureaucracy and another 1900 card encouraged the February revolution, but he reacted negatively to the usurping of power by the Bolsheviks. In December 1917, he emigrated to Norway, he lived in a small town Valsta (Norwegian) not far from Oslo. He actively participated in the life of the Russian diaspora and worked with immigrant publications. He wrote articles with socio-political content and continued to work as a cartoonist.  He was the initiator of the campaign "Help a friend" in favor of hungry people in Russia. In 1920, at the request of Gorky, he was involved in raising funds for Russian scientists. In 1920 he published a collection of fairy tales with his own illustrations. In 1930 - he was the author and editor of the newsletter "Contact". He also had a conversation with Russian emigrants around the world, among its recipients A.Kuprin, Rachmaninov, I. Shakhovskoy, F. Stepun Struve and many others. In 1933 and 1936, he made several trips to Europe to collect folklore and reading the lecture series "Life stories".  He was buried in the cemetery in Asker.

OR  yet another Russian arts source (that refuses to reappear!) said:
Carrick Valery V. (William Vilyamovich) 19 (11?) November 1869 (St. Petersburg) - February 27, 1943 (Valsta, Norway).
Cartoonist, book illustrator and writer.  Son of St. Petersburg photographer and watercolorist William (Basil) A. Carrick (1827-1878), a native of Scotland.  Like his father, had British citizenship, but considered himself a Russian.  He graduated from the Teachers' Institute in St. Petersburg.  He studied at the Academy of Arts in 1882-1886.  Was an acquaintance of Gorky (since 1899).  From 1902 published caricatures of Russian culture and cartoons on the socio-political issues in the journals "Sparks", "bogey", "goblin", "Journal of magazines", "Dragonfly", the newspaper "Russian rumor."  Signed work: VK or V. C.  Performed caricatures of  VGKorolenko (1905), Gorky (1906), SG Wanderer (1906), DV Filosofova (1916), Merezhkovsky (1916), VV Rozanov (1916), a cartoon, "The State Duma.  Freestyle imitation of Raphael "(1907).  Author of the satirical cartoon watercolor postcards: "Zemsky Sobor", "The Constitution as the Constitution", etc.  Postcards and cartoons of V. Carrick enjoyed great success with collectors.  In 1908, for the publication of sensitive political cartoons "L. Tolstoy and Nikolai II »and« Cholera and hangin' in the British newspaper «The Manchester Guardian» (September 5, 1908) was subjected to ten-week detention in Moscow.  A correspondent of "Bulletin of Finance."  He was engaged in the collection and processing of literary fairy tales. Illustrated and designed children's books, among which the most famous series "Fairy Pictures" (33 issues), which was published in 1909 and reprinted many times in Russia up to 1923 (printed, usually in the printing BM Wolf in St. Petersburg and Moscow book publishing "Zadruga"), "Dictionary Assistant" (Pg. 1917), "Drawings by Ivan Krylov's fables" (Wiley, 1923), etc.  In 1914, his book of fairy tales, translated into English ("More Russian Picture Tales "), was published in the United States.  He took part in the exhibitions: «Blanc et Noir» (1903), the Society of Russian watercolors (1903), drawings and prints in the halls of the IAH (1915, 1916).  Read the report "illustration" at the 1st All-Russian Congress on Family Education (1914).  Since December 1917, with his wife Olga Mikhailovna, lived in Norway - first in Halingdal (Hallingdal), then Brandbu.  Later the couple settled in the small town of Valsta (Valstad) near Oslo.  Actively participated in the life of the Russian Diaspora, worked with immigrant publications. Wrote articles with socio-political content in the newspaper "Rudder" (Berlin) and "Revival" (Paris), continued to work as a cartoonist.  Member of the Russian emigre circles (1927-1931), one of the organizers of the first Days of Russian Culture in Norway.  The initiator of the campaign "Help a friend" in favor of hungry people in Russia.  At the request of M. Gorky was involved in raising funds for Russian scientists.  In 1933-1936 - the author and editor of the newsletter "Contact".  Corresponded with Russian emigrants around the world, among its recipients were AIKuprin, Sergei Rachmaninoff, FA Stepun Struve, John Shakhovskoy etc.  Produced the 12 caricatures of the leaders I and II State Dumas and Ministers of the Russian Empire for a book by the English historian B. Peyrsa «Russian memoirs» and illustrations for the book "Puss in Boots" for the Paris edition Siyalskoy E. (1930).  In the early 1920s, prepared new editions of "Tales-images" with his own illustrations ("Snow Maiden", "Gingerbread Man," "Little Red Riding Hood," "Straw bull", etc.), the circulation of which was distributed by countries of the Russian diaspora.  With a series of lectures, "Life stories" for Russian emigrants made tours to cities in France and the United Kingdom (1932), Germany and Switzerland (1933), Finland and the Baltic States (1936).  Continued to produce on a rotator (Lois: mimeograph?) cheap black-and-white books for children.  Buried at the cemetery in Asker (Norway).  Ink drawings and watercolors from the collection of director of publishing house "Knowledge" KP Pyatnitskiy stored in the Archives of Gorky in Moscow. 
Bibliography:* XH USSR 4/2/273; HRZ.VV Rozanov Among the artists. St. Petersburg., 1914. S. 419-420.Shaposhnikov F. History of a cartoon / / Spark. 1958. Number 17. S. 19.Leonid Andreyev and Gorky: Unpublished correspondence. Moscow, 1965. S. 611 (op.cit.) (Letter inheritance. T. 72.)Boris Grigoriev Funny portraits of writers / / Evening Leningrad. 1969. July 1 (№ 152). C. 3.Diveev M. Funny portraits / / Evening Leningrad. 1976. Sep 16. (№ 219). C. 3.Caricatures William Carrick / / Neutral: Portraits, sketches, historical narratives and essays. Voronezh, 1973. S. 180-181 (from Portree.) Silt.
Art materials Museum of AM Gorky's description. Moscow, 1986. S. 72, 203-204.Teterevleva TP Vilyamovich Valery Carrick (1869-1943): The St. Petersburg emigrant Norway / / St. Petersburg and the Nordic countries.Proceedings of the Fifth Annual Conference (St. Petersburg, 25-26 April 2003). Russian Christian Academy of the Humanities.T. Teterevleva (Arkhangelsk). Building the author's children's book illustrations in the post-revolutionary Russian abroad / / Illustrators Russian and foreign children's literature: Sat articles. St. Petersburg., 2011. [Online Edition].VV Carrick / / Wikipedia.Compositions:Russian in Norway / / Rudder. 1924. June 28 (№ 2305).Three good deeds: Eastern fairy tale / / Rudder. 1931. March 22 (№ 3138).Shadows of the Past: Memories / / Rudder (Berlin). 1931. August 29. (№ 3270).Valery Carrick. More Russian Picture Tales. N.Y., 1914 / / The Project Gutenberg EBook   

from the Norwegian Wikipedia article on Valery Carrick:
Valery Carrick (born 1869, died 27 February 1943) was a Norwegian / Russian illustrator, draftsman and translator.

Carrick was born in St.Petersburg, Russia, but had Scottish citizenship when his ancestors came from Scotland. As a result of the October Revolution, Valery Carrick and his Russian wife Olga Mikhajlovna came to Norway as refugees in 1917. Their first residence was Gol in Hallingdal, then the surrounding area before settling in Nuremburg. At first they rented a small house in Holm Bay, on Hvalstad. In 1926 they moved to Kunstnerdalen and stayed in the same house as Martha and Rasmus Steinsvik had stayed in previously.
 
Artistic career:
Carrick freelanced in 1905 as a cartoonist in the Russian satirical journal as Zupel (sulfur] and Lesij (forest troll). During a stay in England in 1908 he produced his caricatures of authors and British politicians printed in several newspapers. In The Manchester Guardian, he printed a caricature of the czar and Leo Tolstoy which led to him being arrested and imprisoned for 10 weeks.

Carrick is also known as both the reteller and illustrator of folktales. These adventures were first published in 1909 and subsequently translated and published in England, USA, Holland and Germany.

Valery Carrick was also central in the effort to spread the knowledge of Russian culture in Norway. He published, including the self-printed newspaper, Svyaz '(connection, communication), as part of this work.

Carrick - The Hare and the Frog - Keeping the Public in Public Domain

Many of the stories in the third and final book of Valery Carrick's Russian Picture Tales series show their influence by or maybe on the folklore of other countries.  In contrast, today's story is interesting for its place in Russian folklore.   Russian literature and songs, especially from the average person or the peasants from whom so much of folklore originated, often seem to reflect a philosophy best expressed as "Life is a dismal swamp!"  Sometimes that is expanded to "Life is a dismal swamp and then you die!"  Sounds depressing, even if you think of the history forming it, but it's often like the Blues.  The Blues has been defined as "A good man feeling bad."  I'd change that to a good person, letting the Blues be available to both genders, but trust you get the idea: even something unhappy can be good if it's done well.

After either a Russian story or song, I might mention that bit of Russian philosophy, then follow it with this brief story.

So life just might not be a Dismal Swamp after all. 

Today's story was extremely brief, but tomorrow I have a bit of research about Valery Carrick as an extra posting.  It's what happens when you follow the rabbit trails that can pop up when telling stories.
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This is part of a series of bi-weekly posting of stories under the category, "Keeping the Public in Public Domain."  The idea behind Public Domain was to preserve our cultural heritage after the authors and their immediate heirs were compensated.  I feel strongly current copyright law delays this intent on works of the 20th century.  I hope you enjoy discovering new stories. 

Currently I'm involved in projects taking me out of my usual work of sharing stories with an audience.  My own library of folklore includes so many books within the Public Domain I decided to share stories from them.  This fall I expect to return to my normal monthly posting of a research project here.  Depending on response, I will decide at that time if "Keeping the Public in Public Domain" should continue along with my monthly postings.