"Her hut on chicken legs," he droned.
Hello myth-lovers!
How have you been? Have you read any good books lately? Seen any good films?
Next week my holidays begin (whoot whoot!), but for now there are a couple of assignments to hand in (*deflated whoots*). I'm supposed to be writing a history essay on Modest Mussorgsky, but I got bored and decided to write my email to you all instead :)
The thing is, my history lectures are... dry. It's debatable whether the teacher is aware that there are people listening, and his tone is as colourful as the default Powerpoint slides he reads off. Many of my classmates leave the zoom meeting open while they go back to bed. They'll get a tick for attendance, no brain cells spent. (I do not personally condone this, nor do I do it 😂)
And good thing too! Because amidst the monotone, my history teacher can mention the most interesting things!
Such as this--the Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky wrote a collection of pieces for piano, called "Pictures at an Exhibition". "This suite includes the famous Baba Yaga, and her house that runs around on chicken legs," my teacher said, his voice changing emotion like a tuning fork changes pitch. Without pausing to explain, he moved on to the next composer.
Well, there went my concentration, running off on its own chicken legs! Baffled, I opened Google and found that there is indeed a famous Russian legend of Baba Yaga, who lives in a house that runs around on chicken legs.
Baba Yaga is a witch who lives in the forest, in her house... yes, okay, you know about her house. You can go into the woods to find her if you need magical help, but be warned: it's a gamble. Depending on her mood, she might help you, or she might eat you :P
Sometimes she has to chase her victims, so she travels in her mortar and pestle, sweeping her tracks away with a broom. Wherever she goes, it stirs up storms and horrible wind. Some legends say that the mountains, rivers and forests were created as she chased one of her victims.
Mussorgsky's piece is a whirlwind in itself. It's insanely fast, but the snatches of melody shine through the chaos. It's chaotic and mesmerising, magical in the darkest way.
(And yes, I chose to write my essay about this piece!)
This week, we have a post that made me feel quite called-out :(. There are five tips for newbie writers! Ironically, I struggled to come up with them all, and felt convicted by many :(. I think I need to take some of my own advice! XD
I know some of you are writers! What are some writing tips that have helped you? What are you currently working on?
Until next time!
<3 Debbie
(I'm currently working on my essay... :( )