Fashion: not just a frivolity, but a component of worldbuilding that can communicate so much about your world's resources, industry, and power structures, as well as characters' individual choices and personalities. Guest Natania Barron joins us to explore the potential presented by frills and furbelows of all kinds.
From bifurcated Celts to Tudor sumptuary laws to lavender pocket squares, what inspiration can you find for complicating the "standard fantasy wardrobe" into something specific to your world? How can you interrogate the intersection of clothing and gender, clothing and economy, clothing and oppression, clothing and political statements?
Transcript for Episode 72 (Thank you, scribes!)
Our Guest:
The award-winning author of Queen of None, a feminist Arthurian retelling, Natania Barron is preoccupied with mythology, monsters, mayhem, and magic. From medieval-inspired tales to Regency fantasy romance, her often historically-inspired novels are lush with description and vibrant characters.
Natania’s shorter work has appeared in Weird Tales, EscapePod, and various anthologies and RPG settings. On Twitter, she’s known for her #ThreadTalks, which dive deep into the unseen world of fashion history–one of their favorite topics–as well as a meme or two. She identifies bisexual and demisexual, and goes by she/her/they pronouns.
In terms of academics, the author holds a BA in English/Writing from Loyola University Maryland and an MA in English with a concentration in medieval literature from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Though she left academia physically, she’s never stopped researching. Natania can regularly be found deep in the tomes of digitized illuminated manuscripts around the world.
As a mental health activist, especially regarding adolescent care, Natania has drawn nationwide attention for her writing, including mainstream news and television appearances. Additionally, she writes extensively about her own later-in-life ADHD diagnosis.
When not traveling through imagined worlds, she lives in North Carolina with her family, where she traipses through the forest on a regular basis, bakes incessantly, drinks an inordinate amount of tea, and dreams of someday owning a haunted house of her own.
Episode 107: Livin’ on a Prayer: Religion, Worldview, and the Individual
Episode 106: Lighten Up: Making your World a Little Grin-Dark, ft. M.J. KUHN
Episode 105: We’re Going on an Adventure!
Episode 104: Riffing on the Real World, ft. KAT HOWARD
Episode 103: Worldbuilding - It Builds Character, ft. KRITIKA H. RAO
Episode 102: Side Dishes and Second Helpings: Serving Up Some Food Culture, ft CHANA PORTER
Episode 101: All About the Zhuzh
Episode 100: The Game is Afoot! ft. CATE OSBORN, ANDREW NOME, and SHARANG BISWAS
Episode 99: Connect the Dots
Episode 98: Mysterious Worlds, ft. ANDREA STEWART
Episode 97: Perfect Pairing - Intersectionality and Worldbuilding, ft SUYI DAVIES OKUNGBOWA
Episode 96: The Big Blue World: Oceanic Worldbuilding, ft DARCIE LITTLE BADGER
Episode 95: Building and Bending Gender, ft. G.R. MACALLISTER
Episode 94: Natural and Supernatural Disasters
Episode 93: Queries and Quandaries
Episode 92: Ringing in the New Year
Episode 91: Making the Incredible Credible, ft. CHARLAINE HARRIS
Episode 90: The Editor’s Take ft. BRIT HVIDE
Episode 89: Stealing the Best Parts of History, ft. LAURA ANNE GILMAN
Episode 88: Hashtag Aesthetic, ft. MARY ROBINETTE KOWAL
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Lit Society: Books and Drama
Ex Libris
Write The Book: Conversations on Craft
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Gulliver’s Travels
Fresh Air
Myths and Legends