By Susan E. Wagner
Roy H. Williams, in The Monday Morning Memo of February 11, 2019, writes how Margaret Atwood believes the story might have opened, “It was dark inside the wolf.” Williams goes on to analyze this in his piece, without telling us the title of the story she is speaking about.
It’s a good example of “tell it slant,” a story told in a different way, that slowly reveals truth.
The image of being inside the wolf, slowly gives us the who and why. In this case, the truth is a grandmother gets eaten, Red Riding Hood’s grandmother.
This year’s reporting on COVID-19 has probably been examined for truth more than any reporting ever has in this country. Truth is told in different angles in different ways, that will eventually end with something as close to the truth as we can get. We see the story slanted, though the ending is unknown.
Whether you prefer memoir, fiction, nonfiction, or poetry, we want your slant on some aspect of truth that inspires you, worries you, frightens you, or pleases you. This has been a year unlike any other in many ways and we are nearly at the end of it, the year, if not the story. Take a look back. See if there’s a truth you can give us in any form.
We are accepting submissions to our Pearl S. Buck Literary Journal, Vol. 5 No. 2 Winter 2020-21 until January 15, 2021. We would like to see yours.
Click here for our submission guidelines.
Pearl S. Buck Writing Center 