busySomewhat inspired by various conversations about the Fledgling Grace series, I've written some new poems exploring different aspects of the situation.
"A Stranger Message" -- a woman in Mexico develops wings that nobody else seems to have, and she stumbles across the story of Humboldt's parrot.
82 lines, Buy It Now = $41
"Cardinal Feathers" -- some people seem to get their wings not based on ethnicity, but based on faith, which is not quite as consistently distributed as they might have wished.
72 lines, Buy It Now = $36
"Like a Cocky on a Biscuit Tin" -- the birds of Australia are distributed around various local tribes, as seen on walkabout.
175 lines, Buy It Now = $87.50
"Hen-Feathered" 10-26-12 -- most people have bird feathers the same sex as their body, but not everyone does.
60 lines, Buy It Now = $20
"Like the Vapor-Ghosts of Hiroshima" -- some people have the wings of extinct bird species.
70 lines, Buy It Now = $35
"On a Wing and a Prayer" -- a sequel to "The Wingdresser's Kitchen," in which Sheba goes to church and witnesses a miracle.
120 lines, Buy It Now = $60
October 30 2012, 00:25:52 UTC 8 years ago
Thoughts
October 30 2012, 06:13:05 UTC 8 years ago
Everybody got wings, though not all at the same time.
>> Because if men got them too, it would do a lot to mitigate the problem addressed in The Wingdresser's Kitchen, but if it's just a "woman thing", then that's totally what would happen. <<
Well, it's based on a real issue in a world where having hair is the norm for men and women alike. So I figured it would lap over similarly there. A majority of women like to look their best. A majority of men like to not look like something the cat dragged in; as long as people don't hassle them about their appearance, they're not fussy. Men who frequent salons for more than minimum care are in the minority.
For hair, that is; I suppose it might be different with wings. Feathers are harder to care for yourself, and the intimacy is stronger because of the spiritual component. It'll take people a while and some experimentation to figure out how to do this stuff, for themselves or each other. So there's likely to be a learning curve, and businesses will evolve over time, and the law will follow somewhat behind that.
October 30 2012, 07:52:00 UTC 8 years ago
I can think of three basic hairstyles for black men, of which only one -- trimmed fairly short all over -- is common, and pretty much all powerful black men have that one. The other two are the Afro (which takes some care, but is mostly a longer version of the first one) and dreads (which I'm sure take quite a bit of care, but would fall under the same rubric of "nobody really important wears their hair that way" as women's hair. I'm less well-acquainted with whether or not the common men's styles for other ethnicities would run into that issue.
I suppose it might be different with wings. Feathers are harder to care for yourself, and the intimacy is stronger because of the spiritual component.
That's kind of what I was thinking. Certainly not all of the most powerful men are going to have pigeon-wings, and black men would probably have the same kind of wings as black women. So there would be some incentive to address the problem; OTOH, it might break down across class lines, such that moneyed black people of both sexes would have access to (probably expensive) wingdressers who could treat both men's and women's wings, but the poor would be left to struggle with it.
I'm definitely missing some context here because I haven't been following this series from the beginning. Do you have an overview, or is it tagged separately?
Thoughts
October 31 2012, 07:12:38 UTC 8 years ago
Some black men shave their heads. Some wear braids, or knots, or other fancier styles; but it's not as common as among women.
>>I'm less well-acquainted with whether or not the common men's styles for other ethnicities would run into that issue.<<
It varies somewhat. On average, men seem to favor shorter and simpler hairstyles than women do. Men tend to prefer something that can be washed and dried easily, and trimmed occasionally.
Some cultures differ, though; Native Americans often have both men and women with long hair, either braided or loose. There are a few gender-specific styles but those first two are the majority.
>>Certainly not all of the most powerful men are going to have pigeon-wings, and black men would probably have the same kind of wings as black women.<<
That's true. With a cosmetic issue, I extrapolated that women -- who use the most cosmetics and have many individuals interested in personal care -- would figure out what to do sooner. From them it would spread to the men.
>> So there would be some incentive to address the problem; OTOH, it might break down across class lines, such that moneyed black people of both sexes would have access to (probably expensive) wingdressers who could treat both men's and women's wings, but the poor would be left to struggle with it. <<
Likely so. First people would have to realize that wings require extra grooming, then what is needed and how to do it. Then they'd argue over rules and responsibilities and regulations and such. Then they'd sue each other. Eventually the necessary discoveries would be made and shared around, and a reasonable system for wingdressing would become available to most folks. I don't see that being a quick and easy process because people are already kind of flipping out about various aspects of the Fledging.
>> I'm definitely missing some context here because I haven't been following this series from the beginning. Do you have an overview, or is it tagged separately? <<
There is an overview of the Fledgling Grace series and a list of its poems on the Serial Poetry page. However, most of the poems aren't published yet, and I don't have the actual Fledging written up.