This short story is a willful misreading of Aschenputtel by Nikki Hafter.
The story was created for Rewilding Cinderella, a one-day symposium of presentations, performances and conversation held on 2nd April 2022, in collaboration between The George Ewart Evans Storytelling Centre, the Storytelling Choir, and Beyond the Border Storytelling Festival.
Taking Aschenputtel as a seed of inspiration, Ash and Hazel is a parable for the anthropocene, in which exploiting nature’s wealth without due care brings reprisal, and where the supposed sovereignty of human language is exposed as fragile and vain. Informed by Jane Bennett’s Vibrant Matter, this retelling foregrounds the experiences of non-human living beings and their congealed kinships.
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