Image use courtesy of the artist Carmen Winant, "Hur" 2016, collage, food coloring, artist frame - www.carmenwinant.com
Dear Stephen King [remove],
Dear Readers of Stephen King,
It seems about time to give voice to a fictional character, outside of her established narrative, so that she has a chance to stand up for herself. If only Stephen King had bothered to mention that Carrie was an artist, well, a lot of teasing could have been avoided, and maybe some deaths. She might have had more friends who would have been more forgiving of her odd traits as integral to being an artist. Picture the moment of her menses met with supportive encouragement to express herself and revision the deadly prom scene as a collaborative re-enactment of Nitsch’s famous Viennese Actionism performance of 1962. I can even imagine, in a burst of high-school generosity and humor, Carrie swapping out the pig’s blood for wine, an act befitting this loose collective of teenage artists. Art and wine to the rescue to undo the unfair persecution of a creative young lady in this drama and the perpetuation of red’s evil stigma and blood’s metaphorical use for death. Whereas red is also the color of wine and holds a lynch pin position in the celebration of life, and blood, as the wine is meant to symbolize, is the color of life, particularly in the event of menses, anointing women with the power to create.
Sincerely,
Alice
P.S. These words just didn’t fit into the limerick format I’d intended, I think it was just not naughty enough, so I’m settling for my second favorite form: the letter. But here’s my limerick draft anyways –
There once was a teen named Carrie
About whom Steve King did nary
tell readers (for her sake)
about art she did make
That might’ve made her fate less scary.
The teasing can be less pointed
When by her period she’s anointed.
See the bloody baptism
as Viennese actionism
All that death can be avoided.
Male writers of female-ness!
stop chalking up women artists
(Rosemary and baby
and Exorcist lady)
To hormonal telekenisis.
Let’s tenderly wipe the pigs blood
And redirect the devil’s lust to stud
Women whose power shines
a red color of wines
Not death, but joyous life-giving mud.