Mrs. Wilson’s True Tales Retold Podcast
1) Foreword
In Memory of James Buford Levitz A Deering Trade Card (circa 1890), included in the online collection of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Novelty trade card advertising harvesting machinery manu...Show More
2) Esther: Her Story
In which we are introduced to some of the principal characters of these tales----the Peddler and Captain Maximillian Robin among them-----and the recurring themes of America’s distressed abundance, ou...Show More
3) Myth of Nikciamtca'c (told 1890) 2
(corresponding to “Esther: Her Story”) You will see that it is loosely inspired, although the mood and quality of magical absurdity is kept, I hope. Again, we see these abstractions in terms of our ...Show More
4) The Myth of Perpetual Motion
This is a drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, one of several models of self-sustaining rotaries, which he proposed for perpetual motion. His experiments, however, displeased him and he declared: "Oh, ye se...Show More
5) Sun Myth (Told 1891)
(corresponding to “Myth of Perpetual Motion”) The myth of capturing the sun or capturing fire is a myth of human transformation. Man claims a place in the cosmos no other can attain, but also pays a...Show More
6) The Story of the Bride
The song in this story----Wildwood Flower----is now a traditional “folk song,” but was composed as parlor music by J. P. Webster, living in Elkhorn, Wisconsin at the time, shortly before the Civil War...Show More
7) Myth of the Swan (Told 1894)
(corresponding to “The Story of the Bride”) Women are central to the myths told by Mrs. Wilson. They control the plot. They dominate the characters. Their interests and virtues are foremost. Once...Show More
8) Catching Sky
“Hope is the Heart in the Body of Belief.” In which we learn how the peddler made Maximilian Robin the man he became and why he hated water, how Amy was a singer and Amy was a dancer, and how love ca...Show More
9) The Copper is Speared (Told 1894)
(corresponding to “Catching Sky”) In which we learn how birds get their colors and why you ought not to trust little girls who go digging for roots that aren’t really good to eat.
10) Fabulous Masked Man (Part I)
In which we are introduced to Chicago, city of America’s Will, Heart, Muscle, and Nerve. In the mighty words of Carl Sandburg: “They tell me you are wicked and I believe them, for I have seen your...Show More