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The bear puts both arms around the tree above her
And draws it down as if it were a lover
And its chokecherries lips to kiss goodbye,
Then lets it snap back upright in the sky.
Her next step rocks a boulder on the wall
(She's making her cross-country in the fall).
Her great weight creaks the barbed wire in its staples
As she flings over and off down through the maples,
Leaving on one wire tooth a lock of hair.
Such is the uncaged progress of the bear.
… excerpt from Robert Frost’s poem The Bear
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How many readers grew up with a Teddy Bear? Was Bear a good friend and confident, an important part of your childhood? Do you still have your Bear, or have you passed him to another family member? My sister had a Teddy Bear called Eduardo, who took part in many of our childhood games in the world we created for our stuffed toy animals. My sister had a Teddy Bear called Eduardo, who took part in many of our childhood adventures and stories. Bears are great characters for fantasy writing, featuring strongly in many myths and legends from all over the world. Many writers have introduced Bear characters to literature:
 Baloo - from Rudyard Kipling’s “The Jungle Book”, he is the man-cub Mowgli’s best friend and sometime teacher/mentor. Baloo is the Hindi word for Bear.
Winnie-the-Pooh – AA Milne’s classic Bear who featured in his series of books inspired by his son’s Christopher Robin’s collection of toy animals. Other characters included Piglet, Eeyore and Tigger.
Shardik – Richard Adams’ giant Bear believed to possess the Power of God who is tracked by the hunter Kelderek. The hunter becomes involved in the politics of Adam’s fantasy world in a story of sin and personal atonement.
Shardik – Stephen King created a Bear-cyborg of the same name for his book “The Waste Lands” in his “Dark Tower Series”.
Corduroy – a teddy Bear from Don Freeman’s book of the same name, Corduroy belongs to a little girl called Lisa. His friends are Rosetta (a rat) and Buckaroo (a horse) among his friends.
Iorek Brynison - a Panserbjørne from “His Dark Materials” by Philip Pullman, Iorek is an armoured Bear with exceptional strength. He’s an expert smith who adheres to a strict code of ethics and will never break a promise.
Winkie – a teddy Bear who seems to have been in author Clifford Chase’s childhood because there’s a lot of detail about his human family. Winkie lives alone in an isolated cabin after losing his child. He is arrested and imprisoned, accused of terrorism and treason. While in prison befriends cleaning lady Françoise and lawyer Charles Unwin.
Archaelogists have discovered evidence proving the Bear was worshipped in ancient times by cultures all over the world. Prehistoric Finns greatly respected the Bear believing the creature was the spirit of their forefathers. Korean myths tell stories featuring the Bear as a symbol of their ancestors, and evidence of Bear worship has been found in studies of ancient Chinese and Japanese culture. One of the oldest and most famous legends featuring the Bear is visible in the northern hemisphere’s night skies. The constellations of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, respectively meaning Great Bear and Little Bear, evolved from a rather romantic Greek legend.
Zeus, king of the Greek gods, had a wandering eye, and it happened to alight upon a huntress named Callisto. His jealous wife Hera was so angry she turned the huntress into a Bear. Her son Arcas, concerned that his mother was late coming home, went to look for her. One day, while wandering through a forest, he was startled to see a huge Bear rushing towards him. Arcas, wanting to protect himself, seized his bow and arrow, and carefully aimed at the Bear. Zeus had tried and failed to undo Hera’s spell, so to protect his love he changed Arcas into a small Bear. To make them safe and immortal he cast both Bear into the sky. Hera managed to have the final say in this sorry story – she moved both Bears into a part of the sky that never sets, condemning Callisto and Arcas to remain awake for all eternity.
There are, naturally, variations on this story. One of the most interesting belongs to a Native American tribe, who interpret Ursa Minor as three hunters pursuing a Great Bear. The first hunter carries a bow and arrow, the second a cooking pot and the third the firewood to light a fire beneath the pot. It’s interesting to see how two different cultures have created legends around the same constellations.
Because Bears hibernate in the winter, Native American cultures associate the creature with retrospection, or “dreaming the Great Spirit”. The Bear’s cave symbolises the mind returning to a higher level of consciousness during the winter sleep as well as representing a return to the womb of Mother Earth. This gives the illusion that the Bear is a feminine being with a nurturing, protective character. Cubs are usually born in spring, and spend the first formative seven years of their lives with the mother.
The Pawnee legend of White Bear Medicine Woman tells of a girl born with the spirit of a Bear when her father killed a Bear just before she was born. The Bear spirit gave her the power of healing, and she can be invoked when her help is being sought. The Bear is considered keeper of dreams, and will keep the lessons learned from our dreams until they are realised or needed. If you feel tired and need a lot of sleep, it may be the Bear working to help you take control of your life. The Bear will teach you to think before making a decision, to rationalise and consider all possibilities before taking action.
The Bear is a fierce warrior, and is very protective of its young. They may appear to be clumsy, lumbering and slow, but when threatened their reactions are quick and effective. Bears love fish, and also dine on berries, fruits and honey. They are real homebodies, and love their dens and the warmth and shelter provided by their home.
I hope some of the information above gives you some inspiration if you're looking for a character for your next fantasy story.
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Fantasy writing needn’t always be in prose format – this genre works really well in poetry. Here’s a man struggling to find himself in a fantasy world, questioning his life and the reasons he is in this world. A knight in shining armour, perhaps?
| |  | The Hunters (13+)
A short story about two teenage werewolves that go out for a hunt at night.
#1185090 by CCWolf   |
Two wolves meet at night to share a hunt… but are they really wolves? A clever way of using natural instincts in the fantasy genre, this story cleverly avoids the clichéd werewolf in favour of the guy/girl next door.
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The writer adapts a traditional children’s story and gives it a 21st century makeover. Political correctness has been well applied with, with great humour and irony.
A childhood toy shares an adventure with the youngest member of his family. Fancy a picnic with a favourite toy - this teddy bear will show you it's possible!
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When two daring demons decide to kidnap Winter, they find themselves unprepared for Mother Nature’s response. Don’t mess with Mother Nature!
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Many years of searching and study have led our hero to this place, and it seems his dreams of becoming a demi-god will finally be realised. But the first step down the road to his dream is heartbreaking.
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A fantasy character created by this writer has prepared an interesting paper, full of great description and detail. The names and information contained therein is very interesting.
Proving that dreams can be a great source of inspiration for fantasy stories, this writer tells an enchanting story of a mysterious horse imprisoned in a fortress by a White Queen.
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When a young student to the Oracle undertakes a brave quest to learn what is causing death and despair in her world she learns the truth about her culture’s beliefs. And the truth does set this brave girl and her people free.
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Strange Wulf
Mostly because of my beliefs, I naturally distrust utopias. As a Christian, I'm convinced that mankind cannot build a perfect society. I read or heard an old saying somewhere: "Even in paradise, there are serpents." Meaning we can't build a utopia without someone suffering for it, either by making a slave class and taskmasters to mind them or by oppressing everyone and stifling free will.
I believe it takes God to build a perfect world. I don't know if I could ever write something that even came close... but I do know it'd require a drastic change in the nature of all men and women.
I'm probably going to stick my neck on the block here, Strange Wulf , but I can't find any evidence of any kind of faith or religion in any fictional utopia. It seems that religion is not tolerated in utopia, unless it's to maintain control and power. And the great thing about creating a fictional utopia is that the writer can use his or her imagination to great effect; not only can the writer create an seemingly perfect world, but also the characters, heroes and villians who make up that world. Focusing on what drives the people who run that specific utopia, what personal benefit they obtain from maintaining their "perfect" world, while detailing the stories of those who see the bigger picture, who want change - it's a wonderful subject for a fantasy writer - IMHO!
Ariella
I hope you find Tamora Pierce. She's written a lot of books and all the ones I've read are really good. 
I’ve actually ordered two of her books – “Allanah: The First Adventure” and “In the Hand of the Goddess”. I love her name, Ariella – don’t you think it’s a wonderful name for a fantasy writer?
Slippery Silk
I wish someone would write a feature about the Hyenas. It could really have some twists to boggle the mind. They are born with both sexes and their gender is determined by pack need or at least what I have ever read about them. They are closely related to both lions and canines. They are both predator and scavengers with huge territories. They practice genocide feeling it is a duty to kill lions and cubs when ever possible.
Wow what a read!
I’m glad you enjoyed the newsletter, Slippery Silk . I loved researching it. And thank you for giving me the subject of my March newsletter! I actually hail from Africa, and am very well acquainted with hyenas and the myths and legends that surround them. Watch this space…
Snow
You’re welcome! Robin Hobb also has the Live Ship Traders’ trilogy and her new trilogy is the Soldier's Son Trilogy. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did. They’re the sort of trilogies you can read again and again and not get bored and still cry at every sad scene (I know I do anyway :P). And once again great newsletter!
She’s also written “the Farseer Trilogy”, Slippery Silk , and I ordered those with the Tamora Pierce books. As a new Fantasy Newsletter editor I need to read these books. Thank you for pointing them out to me.
schipperke
Wonderful newsletter, Forever. I don't believe in Utopia of any sort, but I think picking one you described, I would prefer the one that had to do with food! 
Yes, schipperke – my Utopia would have to include food. In fact I wouldn’t mind visiting old Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory. A Cadbury’s milk chocolate river… now that’s Utopia!
billwilcox
I refuse to leave Neverland. I won't grow up and you can't make me!
And we wouldn’t dream of asking you to, billwilcox! If living there inspires you to write the wonderful stories you do, please don’t ever leave. Except to visit us at WDC, of course… 
bazilbob
Thanks for a great newsletter, it just gave me an idea, which is always a good thing! I'm thinking of writing about a character who's grown up in a Utopia, but is dissatisfied with perfection. Paradoxical certainly, but human's tend to be pretty paradoxical. Any thoughts?
Paradoxical, bazilbob? Absolutely, but isn’t that what’s so great about the fantasy genre? I actually haven’t got a clue how you’d go about this, but I do think it’s a fine idea. You need to jot down the reasons he’s tired of perfection, and what has lead him to this point. This may grow to the point where he makes a decision, and decides to take action. I’d love to see what you do with this idea. Good luck!
scribbler
1984! One of the greatest novels of all time. Thank you so much for including it, although it's upsetting that you gave away the ending to those who have yet to read it.
For children's dystopian literature, don't forget "The Giver" by Lois Lowry. Incredible boo.
I do feel bad writing about the ending, scribbler , but it is the best example of dystopia mainly because of the ending. You've made a good point here, and in future I shall warn readers that I'll be giving away the ending... but I'll try not to so again, unless absolutely necessary!
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Fantasy: February 28, 2007 Issue [#1556]
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