jane yolen

FAT IS NOT A FAIRY TALE
by Jane Yolen

I am thinking of a fairy tale,
Cinder Elephant,
Sleeping Tubby,
Snow Weight,
where the princess is not
anorexic, wasp-waisted,
flinging herself down the stairs.

I am thinking of a fairy tale,
Hansel and Great,
Repoundsel,
Bounty and the Beast,
where the beauty
has a pillowed breast,
and fingers plump as sausage.

I am thinking of a fairy tale
that is not yet written,
for a teller not yet born,
for a listener not yet conceived,
for a world not yet won,
where everything round is good:
the sun, wheels, cookies, and the princess.

~ from Such a Pretty Face (Meisha-Merlin Publishing, Inc.), Copyright © 2000 Jane Yolen. All rights reserved. Posted with permission of the author.

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That Jane. She runs rings around us all, doesn’t she?

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#12 in the Poetry Potluck Series, celebrating National Poetry Month 2011.

If someone had told me 23 years ago that one day I’d be inviting Jane Yolen over to my cyber kitchen to share a poem and recipe, I’d think he or she had eaten way too many Alice B. Toklas brownies.

Well, right now my head’s buzzing and I’m floating on air because here she is, and I couldn’t be more astonished or pleased. All those years ago, I had the distinct pleasure of listening to Jane talk about picture books at a Mid Atlantic SCBWI Conference. I learned soooo much and was impressed by her enthusiasm, generosity, graciousness, candor, and overall brilliance.