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Newly Minted Familiarity

December 14, 2012 by Zach Franzen 6 Comments

Fantasy is a two-edged sword. It can amplify our disenchantment with the world, or refresh our appreciation of it.  William Jay Smith does a great job communicating the romance of domesticity and refreshing our appreciation of life in his poem, “The Toaster.”  He uses the unfamiliar (dragon) to refresh our wonder at the familiar (toaster).  Tolkien once suggested: “We need … to clean our windows; so that the things seen clearly may be freed from the drab blur of triteness or familiarity –from possessiveness.”  I think William Jay Smith accomplishes this admirably.

Here is the poem if it is too small to read on the illustration (but try clicking on the image, maybe twice, to see it larger):

The Toaster
by William Jay Smith

A silver-scaled Dragon with jaws flaming red
Sits at my elbow and toasts my bread.
I hand him fat slices and then, one by one,
He hands them back when he sees they are done.

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Zach Franzen
Zach Franzen
Zach Franzen was a kid just like everyone else, only with more Zs in his name than most (2).

You can find more of his work online at zachfranzen.com and on Instagram @zachfranzen.
Zach Franzen
Latest posts by Zach Franzen (see all)
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Comments

  1. S.D. Smith says

    December 14, 2012 at 9:09 am

    “Daddy, if the dwagon bowns the toast, will it bown in ouw moufs?” My 3 yr old, with serious questions about this situation. 7 year old son loved it, as do I. Thanks for the wonderful painting, Zach!

    Reply
  2. Zach Franzen says

    December 14, 2012 at 11:28 am

    The common thinking is that kids prefer generalities and adults prefer specificity, but I think Micah just demonstrated how much kids delight in specificity. Thanks for the feedback!

    Reply
  3. Hannah Holder says

    December 15, 2012 at 12:00 pm

    I love how bored/testy the dragon looks! Like there might soon be a slice that broke the dragon’s back, and the man will have no idea what he’s done.

    Reply
    • Zach Franzen says

      December 17, 2012 at 8:36 pm

      Thanks for the kind words Hannah. Love your etsy shop by the way!

      Reply
  4. Kimberlee Conway Ireton says

    December 17, 2012 at 7:11 pm

    I love this illustration! And your words about the uses of fantasy have got me thinking about re-enchantment…which seems particularly apropos this time of year, with early dusks and foggy dawns. Thanks so much for sparking (ha!) my imagination 🙂

    Reply
    • Zach Franzen says

      December 17, 2012 at 8:35 pm

      Thank you Kimberlee. Re-enchantment is a such a great word and a much more concise way to describe what I was trying to get at.

      Reply

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