Imagine a woman walking down a country road, wearing a felted cape with its pockets full of tales. Her toes are in the dust and she is walking toward your town. A gray fox trots beside her, catching Jerusalem crickets and berries in his teeth. He leaves paw prints that are the stories of the wild. Together they are up to their teeth and fur in old fairytales and myths–tales from the mole tunnels, the alder roots and the spiderwebs, tales from the trunks of abandoned cars, tales from the water-towers, the tents and teapots of our own hearts. This woman and her gray fox are the spirit of the Gray Fox Epistles, a new story-letter project recently launched by Sylvia Linsteadt, writer of magical tales, animal tracker and student of the wild.
Subscribers to the Gray Fox Epistles will receive one of Sylvia’s original tales every month on the new moon, in their physical mailbox, printed, packaged and wax sealed beautifully and with scraps of woodland leaf or feather included. All stories will be at least 2,000 words in length, and previously unpublished.
All tales are retellings of myths and fairytales, the kinds that have passed on through centuries, through many different landscapes. These retellings will be set in the wilds that Sylvia knows and loves–redwood forest, tule marsh, northern coastal scrub, where mountain lions hunt and coho salmon spawn. The Gray Fox Epistles is a small attempt at re-wilding and re-rooting both the old stories and ourselves.
Details and Logistics:
Subscriptions are $9.00/month for U.S. residents and $11.00/month for international subscribers. Discounts will be offered in the future for subscriptions of 3, 6 and 9 months. Subscribers will have access to a Blogger site where each month’s tale will be discussed and original versions posted.
Please come learn more about the project and Sylvia’s work at the Indigo Vat, and if you are so inclined, visit the sign up button on the top left just below the title banner.
Questions and queries? Contact Sylvia V. Linsteadt at grayfoxepistles@gmail.com
