Kotzwinkle, William E.
Kotzwinkle, William E. (1938– ),American writer of fantasy, who often incorporates fairy‐tale motifs in such works as Fata Morgana (1977) and Herr Nightingale and the Satin Woman (1978). Kotzwinkle also wrote the novels on which the films E.T.—The Extra Terrestrial (1982) and Superman III (1983) were based. His fairy tales for children have been collected in The Oldest Man and Other Timeless Stories (1971) and introduce conventional characters into mysterious situations. Thus in ‘Hearts of Wood’ a troll uses magic to make a carousel come alive, and in ‘The Dream of Chuang’ a butterfly catcher dreams he becomes a butterfly but also comes to think he may be a butterfly who dreams he is a man. Nothing is ever certain in Kotzwinkle's tales, as he demonstrates in ‘The Fairy King’, who leaves his throne empty for anyone to become king.
Jack Zipes
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