The Muse & The Marketplace 2024

Retellings are riding a cultural wave in which myths and legends are being recontextualized, bringing once muted voices to the fore. Think Hadestown, Circe, The Book of V, The Lincoln Highway, and The Lightning Thief. Alluding to mythological or biblical themes in literature is as old as, well, the bible. But there is something about contemporary attempts that do more than flex one’s literary chops–they give voice to the voiceless and historically overlooked.

Are you interested in making ancient plots your own? Reimagining and filling in the blank spaces? Whether from mythology, the bible, or other foundational texts, ancient launching points evoke something recognizable and familiar in the reader, providing an established structure and opportunity for rich and unique interpretation. In this session, we will look at several published works with an eye toward their varying degrees of “exactness.’ What are the pros and cons of a light touch versus a heavier one? When should a writer take liberties? This session will be useful for writers of “retellings” as well as for those motivated to write narratives that are “in conversation” with great literature.