Translating Tales of the Trickster

The research will create an open space for creative and critical discussion of the ways in which trickster folklores are being translated, written, performed and lived within contemporary cultures. We will consider how trickster folklore is being translated into new forms of fiction and will explore how trickster narratives are lived and performed in everyday life

The main vehicle for research will be a network of academic, creative and public partnerships that will respond to the theme "Translating Tales of the Trickster" through a series of micro fictions, performances and papers that are intended to stimulate debate across disciplines and contexts. The network will explore the feasibility of creating a digital archive of established and emerging trickster tales.

The mythical trickster character often possesses magical abilities and may transform his/her/its own identity and that of any surrounding people or environment. A core characteristic is that she/he/it is never as first appears. S/he is the friend who turns out to be an opponent, the witch who helps the hero return home or the lover disguised as a monster. In folklore, the trickster appears in the guise of a fool, a hag, a fox, a hare and a coyote. In modern fiction, the trickster is the false-love in romance stories or the criminal in detective stories. Finally, in contemporary contexts of new writing and performance, the trickster steps out of a magical circle of fiction to perform actions that have consequences in the physical world.

The rational for the proposed network is to engage with the, as yet, unexplored opportunities to develop a new body of research into the continuing translations of trickster mythology across new cultures of writing, performance and lived experience.

In order to stimulate ideas, we will be holding two workshops: the first will focus on traditional folklore and the second will introduce new examples of trickster narratives. In the latter workshop, we will explore the use of performance and creative writing as means with which to feedback research findings to relevant stakeholders groups.

Translating Tales of the Trickster will benefit communities of storytellers, creative writers and performers working in non-academic disciplines of public education, theatre, literature, digital media and pervasive media. The work will open opportunities for developing knowledge and facilitating the translation of narrative practices embedded within Trickster folklore into new modes of production and distribution. In addition, the case study of the translation of Nigerian folklore into fraud will benefit an international community of crime prevention organisations and "change leaders" in the UK and Africa.

Translating Tales of the Trickster will attend to a critical gap in research regarding the role and representation of trickster narratives in contemporary cultures. Beyond academic research, the network will develop and exchange knowledge by creating three distinct pathways to impact across creative practice, public sector organisation and international contexts.

The work will impact upon creative organisations through direct engagement with the Pervasive Media Studio, The George Ewart Centre for Storytelling and the Beyond the Border International Storytelling Festival. In addition, the Principle Investigator and co-applicant, Holly Howitt-Dring, will keep peers in their respective communities updated on progress of the network through organisations such as Lucidi, a creative community of writers. Holly Howitt-Dring will also present original fictional work produced through the project at the National Flash Fiction Day project In June 2012.

Key targets for the dissemination of theories emerging from the project will be The Journal of Media Practice, Short Fiction in Theory and Practice and The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies Articles. We have selected these journals because they are also read by creative writers and performers working outside of academic contexts. To reach a wider artistic sphere, articles will also be submitted to leading arts and technology journals, such as Mute and Leonardo, and public presentations will be made at key UK arts and technology centres, such as Watershed in Bristol, FACT in Liverpool and the ICA in London.

The inclusion of creative responses to the theme from practitioners (in the form of micro-fictions and micro-performances) will enable us to extend the impact of our research to a wider public audience that would not normally engage with academic research. The Principle Investigator, Bambo Soyinka, for example, is already in consultation with cultural leaders from Nigeria (see international pathway) who are interested in using her work with youth groups in order to explore the ways in which trickster narratives enable us to reflect on creative and destructive forms of social and cultural interaction.

Academic responses to the theme will also be used to influence and inform public bodies. Network member, Dr. Matthew Williams, for example, is particularly interested in the ways in which the research may help crime prevention bodies better understand the cultural contexts from which certain deviant behaviours originate in the UK and his responses to the theme will provide a pathway to crime prevention bodies and forces within the UK.

The research network will initially connect with international partners through association with bodies in the UK that are linked to communities overseas. Our partnership with the Beyond the Border Festival is an example of this strategy in action. In addition, the Principle Investigator will seek to establish and develop links with overseas partners in the course of the research. In preparation for this, she has, for example, already established links with the School of Theatre and Media Arts in Ibadan University, Nigeria and will seek to develop further links with the Schools of Business and Social Science.