Six Degrees of Wikipedia | Status to Persephone

Her name has been explained as “she who destroys the light.” a pre-Greek death goddess who was merged with the Greek Kore, a fertility goddess. Kore (“maiden”) was her name when the Greeks referred to her as a fertility goddess, and Persephone remained her name in association with her role as queen of the dead.

A quick question from Steve about the plural form of the word ‘status’ led me to Wikipedia for confirmation. Thiry-five seconds later, I tear myself away and get back to work, reflecting on the fact that, like the roads to Rome, all my Wikipedia inquiries lead me to Mythology.

It’s strange to run across Persephone. I keep bumping into her these days, all over the place. Last night, my friend Keeley told me a great story involving a thunderstorm, Italy, a woman in a kerchief, an opera that I suspect was ‘Orfeo’ (but that’s a guess since I know nothing about opera), and Persephone’s Hair. Also, it’s been spring now for about a week in the Midwest, which always fills my head with thoughts of Persephone (to say nothing of swollen sinuses). And, in another week or so, the two little kids in the story I’m working on will be sitting down to have tea with her.

I’m looking forward to seeing her again. The last time I wrote anything with Persephone was a very long time ago, ten years or more. But since the world doesn’t need a three hundred page play that merges Irish, Greek, and Christian mythology . . . well, I scrapped the script a long time ago and have been stripping out the good bits here and there ever since in a form of literary cannibalism that has proven nourishing for any number of other projects.

Perspehone was one of the best things about that script and I’ve been saving her for something special. This latest piece is, more or less, going to be a novel when it’s finished and it fits her perfectly. I’m really looking forward to finally giving her something to do.

And I think she’s going to turn out to be a very good friend to the teakids…