An Interview with T.A. Barron
What first brought Merlin to your attention?
When I first read T. H. White's Once and Future King, I absolutely loved his characterization of Merlin, elder wizard and mentor of Arthur. I read it under an English oak tree on a farm outside Oxford, so the setting seemed very real. I even named the old oak "Merlin's tree." But I had no idea at all that I would, one day, have the chance to add a little bit to his legend.
Twenty years later, when writing a novel that required some research into Arthurian lore (The Merlin Effect), I realized how little had been written about Merlin as a youth, except for occasional references in the Welsh Mabinogian and a few modern treatments by authors such as Mary Stewart. I started to wonder about his struggles and triumphs as a child and as a young man. What were his deepest dreams? His darkest fears? His greatest lessons about life? It seemed to me that, in this wondrous, truly luminous, tapestry of myth about Merlin, there was a gaping hole his youth. So despite feeling humbled by the task, I couldn't resist trying to add a few new threads. The result is the five books of The Lost Years of Merlin.
You often refer to Merlin as a metaphor in your Author's Notes. Would you explain just what you mean?
This character has incredible depth. One reason he has stayed so richly alive for 1,500 years, and across so many cultures, is because he represents some of humanity's most basic struggles and aspirations. Three examples are his ability to learn from nature, his ability to cross boundaries and stand for universality, and his ability to combine both a dark side and a light side in his wisdom a sense of his own frailties and vulnerabilities, as well as his own powers and ideals. Looked at in the historical context of the disintegration of society in sixth-century Britain, and the antagonism between the emerging faith of Christianity and the ancient faith of Druids who were being driven into the forests, Merlin's role as a bridge builder is truly extraordinary.
The first stories emerged about a Druid master who would step across that line and become the friend and teacher of a young Christian king, so that together they could unify the people and create a society where justice and individual respect would prevail. This was a radical and terribly hopeful idea.
After spending these years writing about Merlin's youth, however, I am struck even more by another metaphor: that of Merlin's own passage, from the nameless, half-drowned boy who washed ashore at the start of Book One and who grows in many ways, until he is finally ready to step into his legendary role as the greatest wizard of all times. That transformation, with all its struggles and surprises, is really about Merlin discovering his own inner gifts, his own inner magic. As he grows in wisdom and mastery, he finds that he holds far more greatness inside himself than he ever believed possible. And therein lies the metaphor. Perhaps, like that boy who washed ashore, each and every one of us holds some special magic within ourselves magic that just might hold the makings of a wizard.
It's obvious that you did considerable research to write about Merlin because your young Merlin fits so well in the Merlin canon. However, did you turn up your other characters in your research or in your imagination?
Some of both. From the start, I knew my young Merlin had to fit seamlessly into the greater body of myth. Even so, that left me considerable room for originality as long as my new additions felt completely integral to the whole. The grounding of Celtic lore, therefore, was essential. The name Fincayra, for example, came from a line in a Celtic ballad that referred to an island called Fincayra, halfway between our world and the Otherworld of the spirits. This reference fit my story perfectly, not only because of its blend of mortal and immortal, but also because of the ancient Druids' reverence for "in between things." Ancient Celtic lore inspired the names of many of my characters. For example, once I knew the personality of Merlin's friend and teacher, Cairpré, I named him for a fabled bard. I also found an old tale about a wood nymph called Rhiannon just the right name for the girl of the forest who would become so important to Merlin. The name of Merlin's archenemy came from a deadly ogre known as Rhita Gawr. And I gave Dinatius a name of Roman origin to connect him to post-Roman Britain.
In other cases, I grounded original characters in established categories. Hallia, for example, is a deer maiden. Valdearg is a mighty dragon (though I gave him a soft heart). And Elen is a healer and herbalist although I also made her a Christian who retained her respect for the wisdom of other faiths. Other characters bear little or no resemblance to anyone I found in the traditional tales: Shim, the dwarf who discovers that he is truly a giant; Trouble, the fiery hawk who becomes Merlin's first friend and lasting inspiration; Merlin's shadow, who possesses a mind of its own; the kreelixes, creatures who devour magic; and Urnalda, the irascible enchantress of the dwarves.
The conventions of most fantasies include a struggle between Good and Evil, magic, a prophecy, a hero and his/her companions, a quest, an amulet, etc. What makes good fantasy? What takes it beyond the formulaic?
The elements you've cited are some of the tools commonly employed in fantasy. But like many tools, they can be wielded well or poorly. And these tools aren't the core of the best fantasy, which contains a moral vision, with ample room for complexity and contradiction. That is why such stories can give us a whole new perspective on ourselves, through casting an altered mirror that reveals our world afresh. But such a mirror must be more than just distorted: It must also be true. Every detail, every element, of an imaginary world must be believable, and all those details must be fully integrated.
Imagination, really, is our personal form of the power of creation. If a reader finds a story about an imagined world to be true, in all its characters and places and voices, then that reader can completely envision that world. And also inhabit it. That is why I prefer the term "visionary tales" to describe this kind of story tales about new worlds we can envision, and create, because they are at once wholly imaginary and wholly true.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Like all fantasies, The Lost of Years of Merlin books carry you into other worlds, allowing the reader to go "outside" his or her life. However, the Merlin books also explore many inner worlds, such as the meaning of life and who you are as a person. Are there lessons you take from the series that may help you learn more about yourself and your dreams?
- Throughout the series, what aspects of himself did Merlin have to discover and why in order for him to grow as a wizard and as a man? Think about the journey Merlin took to discover his essential humanity. Do you think you know yourself, or do you have things you need to discover about yourself? In The Mirror of Merlin, young Merlin looks into a magical mirror and faces the person he least expects to see. What kind of person do you think you will become? How can you find out? Where and how do you picture yourself in five years? What about ten years?
- As he began writing The Fires of Merlin, T.A. Barron discovered that Merlin's path to self-discovery would take longer than the three books he'd originally planned. As you look at the different parts of your life, think about the goals you have set for yourself so far. Did you realize you were setting them at the time? Do you feel that you have met many of your goals, or has it taken you longer than you had thought to fully realize your potential?
- When Rhia and Emyrs talk about home in The Lost Years of Merlin, she asks him, "Where then is your home?" He doesn't know; he has no memory of his past. "Isn't your home wherever you are?" she asks. "You aren't serious. Home is the place you come from. The place where your parents live, where your past is hidden," Merlin answers. Why is he so intent on finding what he calls "home," and how does this influence him throughout his adventures? How does your home affect your life and personality? Does it influence your relationship with other people?
- What does the blight that threatens to destroy Fincayra in The Lost Years of Merlin represent? How might you relate it to our own world?
- What does Dagda mean in The Wings of Merlin when, after telling Merlin of Fincayra's greatest peril, he says, "Heed well these words, young wizard: Fincayra's fate has never been more in doubt. You may find unity in separation, strength in weakness and rebirth in death, but even that may not be enough to save your world. For in certain turns of time, when all is truly gained, all is truly lost." Have you ever experienced what you think is a victory, only to realize that it may not be one after all?
- Sometimes authors pull back from their main characters in order to let them take the center stage, to take on lives of their own, which can make them seem very real like people you could talk to and interact with. In his Author's Notes in each of the five books, T.A. Barron tells us that Merlin himself is the guide, that Merlin invited him to be his scribe. Can characters develop their own personalities and take over the story? Is this what makes a character easy to relate to when you're reading a story? Imagine holding your own conversation with Merlin. What would you talk about?
