KMWR: "Undine" is an inventive and intimate retelling of the novella of the same name. Can you talk more about how the novella inspired you to write this story?
SN: I would actually say that a “retelling” has narrower connotations than the expansive process I want to contribute to. A retelling implies a single canonical telling, which is often absent in myths and fairytales. Revisions, omissions, and even misrememberings become alternate tellings of a story rather than retellings of an established canon. These tellings lead to even more tellings, creating a long and branching tradition. The original novella’s place in such a tradition encouraged me to experiment.
The original “Undine” was a fairytale written by Friedrich de la Motte Fouqué in 1811. Fouqué’s work was likely based on the myth of Melusine and the narrative poem “Peter von Staufenberg,” both of which are hundreds of years older. Later on, Fouqué’s story would inspire “The Little Mermaid,” which most of us know today. All of these factors made it feel right for me to build upon Fouqué’s story, which is itself in the freely accessible heritage of the public domain.
I was especially drawn to the failed love triangle at the heart of Fouqué’s novella. In my own telling of this story, I introduced explicitly sapphic and polyamorous themes to complicate that triangle even further.
KMWR: This story is your debut in fiction! I'd love to know what your experience has been like in the fiction world as an emerging short story writer. What advice have you taken and what have you left behind? Do you find the writing world to be welcoming to emerging writers, and if not, how can it be better?
SN: Entering the writing world has been slow for me, but friendly advice has helped me make meaningful progress. Getting published isn’t a very welcoming process, but it shouldn’t be: it is a filter based on the publisher’s standards. The best thing that editors and fellow writers could do is offer respectful and constructive criticism with suggestions. Don’t tear someone down—help them to improve.
Along these lines, I try to keep an open mind for tips. I’ve taken the advice to read well in order to write well, and I apply this to art across mediums. I avoid slop as much as I can. If I like or dislike something about a high-effort piece of art, I want to know exactly why. I rarely reject advice, but I’ve left behind “show, don’t tell” as a strict rule. If I can tell the audience details in a seamless way that fits the voice of the story, telling is an option.
KMWR: "Undine" explores darker elements of what is gained (and lost) in attaining a human soul. I love how this story explores more sinister consequences of human love, such as boredom, cruelty, and devotion. After writing this story, do you feel that the ending could ever have been different?
SN: The ending could be different, but it would make a different story. Modern versions of “The Little Mermaid” are still based on Fouqué’s “Undine,” but they focus on the transformative power of love in a purely positive sense and leave tragedy aside. I, on the other hand, was drawn in by the tragedy of Fouqué’s ending, and so I took my work in a similar direction.
Even if the ending of my telling is sad, I don’t find it completely desolate. Love was still transformative in my story: it gave Undine a soul and it gave Bertalda sanity, even if it eventually took both of these things away. Huldbrand is dead at the end of my telling, but Bertalda and Undine are still alive and with each other, as changed as they are. I believe that they retain some form of love, and no one is to say what it will do to them next.
KMWR: What is your ideal writing session, and what do you like to have nearby as you write?
SN: It’s not a requirement, but I love spending an evening writing with friends who are working on their own projects. I often hang out with people just to write, so that we can keep each other accountable and give feedback.
KMWR: What was your last great read?
SN: Some short stories. “Measurements Expressed as Units of Separation,” by M.L. Krishnan (The Dark), as well as “Like River,” by Mikhaela Woodward (River Styx). I’m also heavily enjoying Witch Hat Atelier, a manga by Kamome Shirahama. I prefer character-driven fiction, especially in works where relationships link character arcs together.
KMWR: Do you have any new projects, whether that's in fiction, poetry, or art?
SN: I am always working on new things, or I am nurturing their premonitions. At the moment, I’m trying my hand at writing a play based on another myth.
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Sirrudeen Nahar (they/any) experiments with different mediums to enflesh the ideas that compel them. You can follow their work on social media here:
