I’ve been thinking about the women of Greek mythology lately. This probably explains why I enjoyed this CBC radio interview from a while back with Natalie Haynes about her nonfiction book Pandora’s Jar: Women in the Greek Myths (affiliate link).
Writing Trauma
She talks about the trauma of writing about, well, trauma in her fiction focused on the lives and tragedies of women in mythology. She’s the author of the Trojan War novel A Thousand Ships (affiliate link) which is narrated by a host of trauma-struck women. So it wasn’t surprising that she wanted a break from writing inside these women. Nonfiction provides some emotional distance.
Relevance
She talks about the relevance of women from Greek mythology to our lives today. Which is sadly true. These stories provide ways to explore our humanity, our cruelty and kindness, and perhaps to show paths toward our better selves. That’s what I think, anyway. That’s why I’m sifting ideas for my next book within the stories of these women–sometimes ignored, sometimes vilified, rarely celebrated as themselves until we delve and feel and record their stories anew.
For Further Reading about Women of Greek Mythology
If you’d enjoy reading an interview with Natalie Haynes about Stoneblind, Medusa’s story, here’s the link.