Reviews from

Call her Savage

The true story of Meme Le Blanc, the 'Wild Child' of Chalons

41 total reviews 
Comment from Dr. Nad
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

Call her Savage Is an incredible story of a little girl who was abandoned or lost by her family. You do such an excellent job of both telling the story in the Poem and through the author's notes. Thanks for sharing. May God bless you!

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 01-Feb-2017
    Thankyou so much you are extremely kind and I am very grateful, kind regards Meia x
reply by Dr. Nad on 01-Feb-2017

    You are welcome.
    Embrace the love from above.
Comment from Jumbo J
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Hi Meia,
your wonderfully constructed free verse story poem took me on a journey... a journey both fascinating and disturbing at the same time.

And your eye for detail in relating the history of the story in both the poem and your notes are totally outstanding... and yes, originally unique... well at least to my eyes.

The poem, your special touch and notes held my attention from start to end... and yes, I enjoyed reading the entirety of your content very much.

How could this write/writes not be given its due rating?

Totally exceptional in its composition, the story of and informative nature of both poem and extensive notes... which in my opinion, would have been given an exceptional in the non-fictional prose category on its own merit.

A true pleasure to read someone who strives to deliver the best product of their nature.

With our thoughts we create,
the imaginations of survival.
James vx's.

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 01-Feb-2017
    Thankyou so much you are extremely kind and I am very grateful, kind regards Meia x
Comment from bertranclan
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

Your poem really piqued my interest, as well as the author's notes below. I had never heard of her until I read your poem, so you educated me a lot. You handled a sensitive and hard subject well. Kudos to you!

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    thankyou so very much for a fantastic review love meia x
Comment from winnona
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

A very well written poem of Memmie Le Blanc' known life. It is amazing how many stories like this surface in Europe in ancient time. The one I have always been interested in are the green children of wool pit or wolf pit. I read everything I can find on them and hope someday to write a story about them.

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    thank-you so very much for a fantastic review love meia x ps; The Green Children are also a fascination of mine. I do believe they accidentally stumbled into a vortex of (our) alternate world, of which there are millions......I have always wanted to write about them also, I know thy remembered they came from a place called St Martins and hear bells chiming and followed them...so tantalising fascinating! x
reply by winnona on 31-Jan-2017
    That has been my idea also. The little girl told of their world being in twilight and another idea was they came from a fairy world. They are so fascinating. I keep searching the internet for any written accounts and add it to what I have.
Comment from LIJ Red
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

Fascinating character study, like Elephant man and so many others, even Tar Zan of the apes. One does suspect she was a French foundling, making a living any way she could. Unusal blend of rhymed free verse...excellent story.

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    Thank-you so much for the kind and thoughtful review :) kindest regards, Meia (I have produced many poems including one about Joseph Merwick, so thank-you I look forward to posting them for you and others to read).x
Comment from RGstar
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

Hi, Meia.
Again another superb write in which the history through your author's notes are so informative and good to read.

A couple of things...the poem itself.

One of the things I thought to do next year, if I had still being here, now looks unlikely unless the classic site stays, as they have now taken ''Views'' away from the New site claiming influence from search engines, which is not so at all to any extent which matters...and same for all) I guess some authors may have written in who get low viewings despite many reviews. Not the time to talk about that now.

I wanted to say, this is a perfect example of how, using dynamic writing one can take away the personal and possessive pronouns from a write. The you and yours, though keeping the narrative... as well making the writing more dynamic.

Having said that, I see the angle you take and why you want to use it in this way as if speaking personally to the antagonist.

This writing would be perfect as a case study, if I should be here and go ahead with the course with dynamic writing in focus.

I have to ask you of another thing;


''Another little painted black girl
had been your companion.
Another little 'savage'
had been your friend.''

Though you might not see its significance for no ill-meaning meant. The reference to a naturally 'black' girl as painted, when if I remember rightly, was naturally black...I think you also cemented that fact in the author's notes, may seem an eye raiser and a little sensitive. I am not sure whether you are saying this girl was also white and also painted black, which I am sure not the case. As well adding

''another little savage had been your friend''

May indicate that being black was to be a savage, though she was deemed a savage not from being painted black, but by her wildness and mannerisms of an animal from being exposed to such, which would not have been the case in a young black girl been taken from Africa or born on a plantation, would not have had those tendencies.

That stanza for me didn't really go down well as could give credence to another area of thought should the wrong mind pick up on it and you then classified.

Your work always is an interest for me, and though the above, I find it worthy and so full of wonder, as all your other works for the reader knows it will be different and strong.

Good write...educational and worthy.

My best wishes.
RGstar

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    Thank-you so much as always RG for an excellent review, initially when I wrote this poem some years ago, I understood Memmie's companion to be only 'painted' black....as she was. Now I have come to understand she was probably of African origin, and this worried me so I changed the 'Another little painted' to 'Black girl had been your......'....'savage' in inverted commas is to describe the children's behaviour, and also remember the people of the two were initially very frightened by these girls, they thought them to either savages or ghosts...they feared them...but I had to wonder, does that make me sound racist? Well the answer is no, I am dealing with a very difficult subject but they were both described at the time as savages- not because of colour (Although that surely played a part) but after Memmie was revealed to be white, she was still called a 'Savage'. Hence the quotation mark. Thanks as always for an amazing review you are so very kind and make great points. regards, Meia x
reply by RGstar on 31-Jan-2017
    I always side with the writer's point of view.

    My best wishes.
    RG
reply by RGstar on 31-Jan-2017
    I always side with the writer's point of view.

    My best wishes.
    RG

    Sounds better now you have changed it, and 'savage' is highlited as would be how some might have termed a black person at that time which you try to draw attention to by highlighting it.

    My best to you, author.
    x
Comment from Leineco
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Again, even without the notes, the whole story comes through in your
finely skilled poem - but the notes were welcomed verification (and
expansion).

The poem alone though, truly had me glued to watching it unfold in
such a well crafted fashion.

Outstanding work :-)




 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    Thankyou so very muchLeineco kindest regards Meia x
Comment from Sandra Stoner-Mitchell
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

That was excellent, Meia, I've heard of other children like this. One was of a child brought up with wolves. It is amazing how they survive in the wild, but they do. Your poem was brilliant and your authors notes are always just as interesting and would easily pass for a short story in prose. Well done, I do love reading your story poems. :) Sandra xxx

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    Thankyou Sandra. I have written several poems about Feral or isolated Children, Genie, The Austrian Feral girls, I have a poem already on here you could look at called WolfBoy/Feral that tells of a boy raised by wolves. I am so grateful for your wonderful review :) M.
Comment from Luna
Exceptional
This work has reached the exceptional level

Meia, this deserves a 10-star rating but 6 is as high as they let us go.

I can't express very well what I'm feeling right now; I think that it's actually love. Love for the character, Meme Le Blanc, L'Enfant Sauvage (the savage child).

I love your French. They called her a devil, "Le Fille est Disbolique." The girl is diabolical. But she wasn't. Who knows where she came from? Who knows her parentage? Does it really matter? She was a woman, after all. I would love to have looked into her cornflower blue eyes.

She didn't want wine, she wanted water, blood and meat. Of course she did. How had she survived up 'til then?

/when she accidentally murdered her companion, I was in tears. The poor girl, all alone now. And it WAS trauma.

I loved the statement "Begging the question of who to call savage." Exactly, my friend, exactly.

It's abhorrent to me that they tried to tame her so desperately that she was near death.

It's awesome that she became so fluent in French. Can you point me to her biography? I'd love to read it.

I feel sad at the thought of her trying to make a living as a public curiosity. Like the Elephant Man, she was a victim of her body.

Your Author's Notes were a welcome accompaniment to your poem; however even if you hadn't included them I would have understood the story you so ably told.

You have a real gift at writing, Meia. Don't ever stop. Using your creativity is giving back to the One who gave you the gift in the first place.

love,
jeni


 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    'Using your creativity is giving back to the One who gave you the gift in the first place.'....Jeni that is something my Father used to say to me all the time ...so that gave me chills. I am so moved that you felt as deeply for Memmie as I do. I have always felt the need to write about her plight, and I am so glad it has so far not been misunderstood, as I know some avoid my writing as they think what I write is gross...I try to be a sort of poet historian....well I don't try, I am just drawn to creating a remembrance for such special people. I will continue to do so (plenty more I have already written) and I thank-you so VERY much for being so kind, supportive and I think you are a superb writer probably partly because of the pain you have lived through. I still have ambitions to call a character Jeni Smoker as I can almost picture the character, it's just a really cool name. But I always so enjoy your poems and am so glad you enjoyed mine too.love meia :) ps; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie-Ang%C3%A9lique_Memmie_Le_Blanc has some good info but the book I first learned about Memmie in was called Feral Girls and Wild Boys-A History Of Feral Children by Michael Newton, published by Faber -a fascinating read. I was interested after studying Genie in language acquisition. I have written two poems about Genie(Susan) Willey the girl who was kept tied to a potty chair for 13 years by her father....It chilled me more than any poem I have ever written. Kindest regards, Meia x
reply by Luna on 31-Jan-2017
    Meia, I would be honored to have you write a character with my name. That would be awesome. I can't believe that your father used to say that to you...that gave me goosebumps. Your writing is not gross, plenty of others publish more off-putting writings than you do (although I don't think your writing is off-putting at all). Have faith in yourself and keep doing what you're doing. I have a saying, "do the next right thing." you do the next right thing for YOU.
Comment from l.raven
Excellent
Not yet exceptional. When the exceptional rating is reached this is highlighted

HI Meia, I have read other stories of other feral children living in the wild...it is amazing they live from such a small age...but they do say wild animals will take them in...a very well written story...thank you so much for sharing...and your poem is very well told as well...love Linda xxoo

 Comment Written 31-Jan-2017


reply by the author on 31-Jan-2017
    Thankyou so much fro your kind review Linda :)
reply by l.raven on 31-Jan-2017
    you are so very welcome Maia...very interesting story...xxoo smiling back at ya..