Western Myths Retold in Canada

Many of the traditional Western myths have been re-told in Canadian poems of the late 20th and/or early 21st century. Please compare these contemporary poems to either the original myth or to one (or more) of the non-Canadian retellings of the same myth.

Examples

Genesis:

Lorna Crozier, "On the Seventh Day"

-> https://books.google.ca/books?id=L9LfAgAAQBAJ&pg=PR10&dq=crozier+before+the+first+word+on+the+seventh+day&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Wa68VPGLF9f_yQTMj4LQAw&ved=0CCcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=crozier%20before%20the%20first%20word%20on%20the%20seventh%20day&f=false (pp 19-20)

Ted Huges, "Apple Tragedy" (from: Crow Poems)

-> http://www.shigeku.org/xlib/lingshidao/waiwen/hughes.htm

Leda and Zeus:

William Butler Yeats, "Leda and the Swan"

-> http://www.online-literature.com/yeats/865/

Robert Bringhurst, "Leda and the Swan"

-> Robert Bringhurst, The Calling. 90-91.

Icarus:

P.K. Page, "This Heavy Craft"

-> http://www.library.utoronto.ca/canpoetry/page/poem3.htm

Anne Sexton, "To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Triumph"

-> http://www.eaglesweb.com/IMAGES/icarus.htm 

Sirens:

Margaret Atwood, "Siren Song"

-> http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/siren-song/

William Browne, "Sirens' Song"

-> http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/the-sirens-song/

Image from:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0c/This_image_is_a_mythical_creature_called_a_unicorn,some_people_think_they're_still_alive_living_as_Narwals-_Although_they_are_mythical_if_they_were_real_I'd_defiantly_have_one_as_a_pet_2014-03-31_19-58.jpg

   

Becoming - Being - Meaning

Finding out one's true identity and becoming who one is meant to be have been important themes in literature from all times and places. Please re-read Skaay's myth about the Sapsucker (which was told and transcribed in Skidegate, Haida Gwaii in 1900) and compare it to Franz Kafka's Parable "Before the Law" (written in Prague in 1915). With how many different symbolic interpretations of the two texts can you (individually and/or collectively) come up? And which of these readings seems the most meaningful to you?
Link to the English translation of Kafka's text: http://records.viu.ca/~johnstoi/kafka/beforethelaw.htm

Optional:
Please feel free to write a symbolic poem or story that defines identity and post it here.

Image from: http://fc05.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/230/7/6/who_am_i__by_rytram-d6irc46.jpg

Storytelling and Identity (2)

Please choose ONE - or, if you wish, of course more than one - of the following options A, B, or C:

A)
Find out more about Carl Jung's research on archetypes - as well as about Joseph Campbell's book The Hero with a Thousand Faces and about Northrop Frye's Anatomy of Criticism, in particular about his "Theory of Symbols" & "Theory of Myths."
Please comment on points that you find particularly interesting and/or useful in these works and relate what you have found out to some of the stories you know - or to your own life.
BTW, Northrop Frye is Canadian and quite ingenious as well as inspiring - though usually not read much today. You probably know Carl Jung and Joseph Campbell anyway. Joseph Campbell's work - and tons of other resources about mythology and related topics - are available at the Joseph Campbell Foundation website: http://www.jcf.org/new/index.php

B)
Check out Caroline Myss's Gallery of Archetypes and write down some of the archetypes that appeal to you. Write a short narrative or play, in which these characters meet and interact with each other or with you. Feel free to change the archetypes to more realistic life-like characters with their own unique features or cast them in a more stylized and traditional way.
Link: http://www.myss.com/library/contracts/three_archs.asp
Optional: take the archetype quiz and find out who you really are :)
Link: https://www.archetypes.com

C)
Think about one of your favourite movies or books - one that you watched or saw several times - and try to find and analyze the archetypes in it. Reflect on how these archetypes relate to you and your life.

Image from: 

http://fc02.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/114/e/f/new_amalgam_comics__the_revenge_syndicate_by_red_rum_18-d6080pc.png

Storytelling and Identity (1)

Identity and Storytelling have been intimately interconnected since the beginning of what we know about human culture. The topic is vast and complex - and can be looked at in many ways.

Please find below some links to some TED talks that I find very interesting in this context. You can either comment on these talks or take the talks as starting point for your own reflections.

Feel also free to add links to other talks or articles that you find interesting in this context.

Here the links:

Chimamanda Adichie:
https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story

Elif Shafak:
https://www.ted.com/talks/elif_shafak_the_politics_of_fiction

Elizabeth Lindsey:
https://www.ted.com/talks/elizabeth_lindsey_curating_humanity_s_heritage

Tyler Cowen:
https://www.ted.com/talks/tyler_cowen_be_suspicious_of_stories

Marco Tempest:
https://www.ted.com/talks/marco_tempest_a_magical_tale_with_augmented_reality

Heitan Patel:
https://www.ted.com/talks/hetain_patel_who_am_i_think_again

Image from: http://technologybubbles.files.wordpress.com/2011/12/dl-storyteller-b1.jpg

Identity/Identities (2)

Please read the following two articles and comment on them either in relation to your own identity or in relation to [Canadian] identity in a more general sense.

"Who Are You?"
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/focus-forgiveness/201212/who-are-you

"Beyond Cultural Identity: Reflections on Multiculturalism"
http://www.mediate.com/articles/adler3.cfm

 Image from:

http://pixabay.com/p-510481/?no_redirect

Image from:

http://pixabay.com/p-510480/?no_redirect

Identity/Identities (1)

Please introduce yourself to the rest of us - in a way that shows your preferred mask(s) as well as (some of) the "real" you behind/ underneath/ within/ beyond/ in between/ ... all those masks.

You are welcome to approach this topic in any way you find suitable - including, of course, in a creative way and/or in a live performance. If you choose to do a performance, please record yourself and send us the youtube link :)

image from: http://pixabay.com/p-154716/?no_redirect

images from:

http://pixabay.com/en/meditation-being-presence-sensing-511563/

& http://pixabay.com/p-520073/?no_redirect 

Perspectives on Maps

Please have a look at the following maps and discuss how they can mirror and/or mask and/or manipulate our view of the world. What do these maps reveal about "Canada" and it's relation to other people?

You may also want to listen to the following short clips about the topic:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLqC3FNNOaI

and: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osQN7aSQV9w

and:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAHWyfwHB8U

Traditional Euro-Centric Mercator Map

 http://www.worldmapsonline.com/images/murals/mercator_classic_world_political_wall_mural_lg.jpg 

Peters Map - with Correct Proportions & Sizes

from: http://www.directionsmag.com/images/features/Petersmap.gif

Upside-Down Map - with Traditional Proportions & Sizes

from: http://memolition.com/2013/01/10/upside-down-world-map/

Upside-Down Peters Map - with Corrected Proportions & Sizes

from: http://www.transpacificproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/SouthUpMapr.jpg 

Canada's Provinces

from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Political_map_of_Canada.png 

North America's First Nations (Canada & US)

from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Langs_N.Amer.png

First Nations in BC (Map 1)

from: https://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/images/map2.jpg

First Nations in BC (Map 2)

from: http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/sgc-cms/expositions-exhibitions/bill_reid/english/images/resources/first_nations_bc_map.jpg 

Canada / Canadian

What does Canada/ Canadian mean to YOU? Please try to define the concept in a way that feels true to you.

Feel free to explore in this context negative and positive ideas to bring out some criticism as well as the main attraction of this unique cultural construct. You are welcome to choose a symbol/ icon/ image (or symbols/ icons/ images) that, in your opinion, represent(s) the idea of Canada / Canadian today.

In Defence of Literature

Why do we "still" read literary texts - in particular poems, stories, myths, novels, plays, etc - in today's world?

Please describe your motivation(s) for reading literature in any genre you find appropriate (e.g. short speech, letter, poem, story, dialogue, ad, etc). Be as convincing as you can :)

Please also check out the following short clip and feel free to comment on it and/or to compare the statements made in it to your own ideas.

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RCFLobfqcw&index=2&list=PLRrpn4V-AeO6MaDgmeZMajCqg03SL5l3A