Bewildering Stories welcomes...

Christopher DeWan

Christopher has won awards for his writing, and his writing has ranged widely: short fiction and plays for stage, screen and television as well as new media. He has a degree in philosophy from Cornell and an advanced degree in critical studies and the arts from the California Institute of the Arts. He teaches fiction and screenwriting at the California State Summer School for the Arts.

“Sugar and Stones” resembles the classic fable by having as its main character an animal, in this case a red ant, that talks and thinks like a human being but acts like an ant. The presence of a human being, in this case a boy, stretches the genre a little but does not disqualify the story as a fable.

What does the story mean? It does not end with the customary moral, but then not all fables do. As with La Fontaine’s “La Cigale et la fourmi,” the readers are left to draw their own conclusions.

Does the boy represent natural catastrophes in a violent, uncaring universe? That may seem less than satisfactory. Or does the heedless child represent the self-proclaimed “masters of the universe” whose financial manipulations destroy the lives and homes of workers? Take your pick... or find another allegory, if you like.

Christopher DeWan’s bio sketch can be found here.

Welcome to Bewildering Stories, Christopher. We hope to hear from you again soon and often!