One of my favorite stories of all time is Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I have read and discussed this wonderful book with my students for years now and I never get tired of reading it again. An anonymous alliterative poem, the story follows one of King Arthur’s knights on an exciting adventure full of danger, deception, and temptation. The translation which I prefer was done by none other than J. R. R. Tolkien, the British legend who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
The short stories I am writing take cues from both of these influences (not to mention Lewis’ Narnia, Beowulf, and countless other stories which have seeped into the marrow of my bones) while, hopefully, offering something that is uniquely my own as well. I’ll not even talk of competing, there is no hope of that, but only of joining in writing stories that are marked by a love of the world of Faerie. That is something which Tolkien and his fellow inklings kindled in thousands of hearts around the world. I am just one victim of wonder.
The Guileless Guild will be a collection of short stories written in the form of alliterative poetry (after the Gawain fashion). They will take place in a world of their own, imbued with medieval aesthetic, and filled with the fantastic. There will be a number of individualized adventures initially, introducing various characters and places, that will eventually culminate (Lord willing) in a tale which combines these heroes together for their greatest adventure yet.
As with many things on this site, particularly that which is posted on the “True Fiction” newsletter, this will be a work in progress. Successive parts of the story will come periodically and sporadically. The final forms of the stories (assuming they make it to such a thing as a final form) may not look exactly like what I share with you here, but I hope you will enjoy what you read and that maybe you’ll even be inspired to join me by tapping into your own adventures in storytelling.
The Guileless Guild
Story One: A Wondering Wizard Comes to Wizenedgate (In Progress)
Story Two: The Nimble Knight of Neverford (Coming Soonish)
Story Three: ???