Dubbed “the Tolkien effect”, after the author of the The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit who was influenced by the Welsh language and literature, Wales has undeniably influenced fantasy writing, both old and new.
But while some applaud the spread of Welsh culture and language, others fear its misuse could have a detrimental impact.
In a way, The Fortunate Fall is about the experience of re-reading, revisiting a narrative only to have it reinterpreted in a new light.
When some of us want to dismiss an opinion or an artistic performance as without sophistication, we often refer to it as “provincial.” A recent collection of essays from the B.C.-based online magazine The Tyee, Points of Interest: In Search of the Places, People and Stories of B.C. proves that content can be province-specific without being in any way provincial in the pejorative sense. Edited by founding Tyee editor David Beers and senior editor andrea bennett — who does not use capitalization for their name — the volume gathers items published between 2005 and 2023 plus two items newly commissioned for the book. Doing so, it creates a multi-faceted gem of a text, with each essay depicting a place in B.C., each from a different and unique perspective.