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Somewhere among the dark forests of Eastern Europe, Baba Yaga, the crinkled crone of Slavic folklore, lurks inside a timber hut atop a pair of chicken legs. She hops through the woods, doing good or evil or just her own thing, depending on whom you ask. GennaRose Nethercott\u2019s debut novel, Thistlefoot, reimagines the folklore of Baba Yaga in a contemporary American setting. Estranged siblings Bellatine and Isaac Yaga are brought together, somewhat unwillingly, by a surprising and mysterious inheritance: a sentient house on chicken legs, named Thistlefoot, who once belonged to their twice-great-grandmother, and with whom they embark on a cross-country puppet tour. But a shadowy figure from a century ago is stalking them, bringing the horrors of the Yagas\u2019 ancestral shtetl with him. Nethercott is a writer and folklorist whose first book, The Lumberjack\u2019s Dove, was selected by Louise Gl\xfcck as a winner of the National Poetry Series. She joins us to talk about the folktales and history that inspired her latest work.

Go beyond the episode:

• GennaRose Nethercott\u2019s Thistlefoot
• Catch her on tour, with a live puppet show, this fall
• Read the short story \u201cA Diviner\u2019s Abecedarian\u201d
• \u201cVassilissa the Beautiful\u201d is one of the tales featuring Ivan Bilibin\u2019s magnificent illustration in this collection of Russian fairy tales
• Hear more Slavic folklore on our episode about the Snow Maiden

Tune in every week to catch interviews with the liveliest voices from literature, the arts, sciences, history, and public affairs; reports on cutting-edge works in progress; long-form narratives; and compelling excerpts from new books. Hosted by Stephanie Bastek.

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Have suggestions for projects you\u2019d like us to catch up on, or writers you want to hear from? Send us a note: podcast [at] theamericanscholar [dot] org. And rate us on iTunes! Our theme music was composed by Nathan Prillaman. The music in this episode is \u201cThe Hut on Fowl's Legs,\u201d from Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky, performed by the Oslo Philharmonic with conductor Semyon Bychkov.

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