FANTASY FICTION CLASS

My Fantasy Fiction class was taught by Jewelle Gomez, who has published a series of vampire novels. My poem, Yvonne, resulted from a character creation exercise in her class. Fantasy Fiction Characters followed.

Yvonne

You’re looking for love in all the wrong places
Staring too long in too many faces
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

You’re taking home too many strangers
So oblivious to the dangers
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

You waste too much time on Jack Daniels and Jim Beam
Now you better give up your man meeting scheme
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

You better mend your ways before it’s too late
Or a killer may be your next date
You’re a girl gone wrong, Yvonne

That handsome man you met last night
Could he be your Mr. Right
Does he play your song, Yvonne?

Wedding bells will soon be ringing
Here comes the bride we’ll all be singing
Yes he played your song Yvonne

by Sue Raymer Woods
April 13, 2005

FANTASY FICTION CHARACTERS

We learn character illustration
In our class called Fantasy Fiction
Right in class characters are created
And then their merits are debated.
Our characters have a special charm
Earl’s even grew an extra arm
They’re all weirdly strange, but we don’t care
There’s one who suddenly isn’t there
My own’s a gal I call Yvonne
She truly is a girl gone wrong
We love sharing our characters with each other
Then the next week we create another
Jewelle Gomez is our Instructor
To a Fantasy Hall of Fame we’d like to induct her
Her novels are of a strange vampire
Whose victims curiously don’t expire
The next Stephen King… it’s my prediction
Will emerge from my class called Fantasy Fiction

By Sue Raymer Woods
April 25, 2005