Looking Then and Now

Perhaps its just the wake of New Years but I find myself struck by a brick of nostalgia for my childhood tales.
Animals of Farthing Wood, Bre’r Rabbit, Animal Ark, The Faraway Tree, The Wishing Chair, Malory Towers, St Claire’s,

I sure read a lot of Enid Blyton, huh.

I consider K.A. Applegate’s Animorphs a prominent early feature of my lifelong feast of fiction but this is the first time in a long time my thoughts have turned to the things I read before.

What to make of it, though? I have glimpses and shimmers of those fables, but it was all so long ago that I don’t dare pretend to know how these early tales informed my world.

Lots of parables of hubris, and bold girls, and why people do what they do, and of Faraway Tree in particular the notion that many other worlds run on many other rules. I don’t dare to pretend such is true, but looking back I hazard a guess that these might have been seeds from which branched further appetites and attitudes. Just a guess.

I don’t have any wisdom or advice this night, but on the wake of everyone’s morning after, looking back at what halcyon was and halcyon is, I hope we all have a good year.

Author: benjamindempsey

Benjamin Dempsey was born in Tasmania and grew up in the city of Tamworth, the country music capital of Australia. There, his parents ran a small white goods store. After graduating highschool he studied computer science at TAFE for a year before moving to Newcastle to attend University. He studied a bachelor of arts majoring in Creative Writing, while also taking classes on Psychology, Philosophy, Religion, Film Studies and Literature. When an opportunity to move to Sydney opened up, he took it with little hesitation and enrolled at the University of Sydney to continue his studies. However, financial reasons forced him to leave university before he could graduate. This did not deter him from finishing his first book, Draconian Symphony. View all posts by benjamindempsey