THANK YOU FOR YOUR INTEREST IN 2012! 

To everyone who has visited our Tales and Tips blog regularly in 2012, please know that the members of the Planning Group of Peterborough Storytellers are delighted at your continuing support. Your comments about the articles and stories that we post here are sincerely appreciated. 

Our commitment to you in 2013 is to continue to develop our Tales and Tips blog so that it will be one of your regular 'must visit' sites when you are looking on the web for helpful information, creative stories and ideas that will expand your interest and skills in storytelling.

From the 2012 Planning Group members of Peterborough Storytellers: Angelica, Betty, Diana, Rita, Hermione and myself.   

Best wishes in 2013 wherever in the cyber world you may be!   

Don

RECOMMENDED STORYTELLING BOOKS FOR YOUR LIBRARY

Members of the Planning Group of Peterborough Storytellers recommend these books, cd’s and other sources of inspiration for your storytelling activities in 2013. While we are suggesting you can find these books with on-line suppliers like Chapters-Indigo in Canada and Amazon in the United States, check out your favourite local book store first or your community library!

v  Favourite Folktales From Around The World

By Jane Yolen.

Yolen is a prolific author of many story books for kids of all ages. Favourite Folktales, published in 1988 is a popular collection of over 160 stories of varying length from over forty cultures and traditions that lend themselves well to telling. Published by Pantheon it can be ordered from www.chapters.indigo.ca. Approximate cost is $17 Cdn.

v  In The Ever After – Fairy Tales and The Second Half of Life

By Dr. Allan Chinen.

The final part of a successful triology by Chinen exploring the three stages of life, this book contains 16 wonderful, short tales about elders that you could easily add to your telling repertoire. One reviewer describes this book as ‘simply a delightful read, highly informative.’ One of the members of Peterborough Storytellers told a story from this book about a year ago and it was an instant hit with the audience. Published by Chiron Publications in 1989 and now hard to find, your best bet is to get it from www.amazon.com. Approximate cost is $25 Cdn.

v Suddenly They Heard Footsteps – Storytelling For The Twenty-First Century

By Dan Yashinsky

A classic book by Canada’s best known storyteller and pioneer. Every teller must have this book in their active library. Not only is it chock full of wonderful stories from many genres, but Yashinsky engagingly shares his ideas and experiences about the renewal of the art of storytelling in our modern age. One reviewer describes this book as follows: ‘if the word awesome had not been rendered meaningless by trendiness, it would be the adjective for this book. As it is, spell-binding will do.’ Published by Knopf Canada in 2004, you can find it in most bookstores but it’s also available from www.chapters.indigo.ca or www.amazon.com. Approximate cost is $25 Cdn.

If you are a fan of ghost stories, check out Yashinsky’s Ghostwise, published in 2006. Available from www.amazon.com for $15 Cdn.

v  The Healing Heart – Families

Edited by Allison Cox and David Albert

This is an interesting book that you won’t find on many storytellers’ recommended lists but it’s one of our favourites. The Healing Heart is packed with folk tales, personal stories, games, songs and many other helpful materials that storytellers can use to promote resiliency, healthful behaviours, self-esteem and mutual respect. 

A reviewer writes: ‘this labour of love weaves magical connections. If newscasters were to read aloud to their listeners one of the stories from this treasury each night for 1,001 nights, we would all lose our fear and be healed, recapturing real security in our homeland.’ Published by New Society in 2003, it’s in your local bookstore but also available from either www.chapters.indigo.ca or www.amazon.com. Approximate cost is $27 Cdn.

There is a companion book to Families that you may also find helpful. It’s called The Healing Heart – Communities which would also be a rich source of great stories suitable for telling and talking about with groups. 

v  The Dreamer Awakes

By Alice Kane

In her recommendation for this book, one of our storytelling group writes: ‘My hands-down favourite. (Kane’s) choices are unerringly excellent – every story has a good plot, interesting and often imperfect characters and almost always a transformative event that drives home a universal truth. The stories are folk and fairy tales and they stand the test of time’. An on-line reviewer remarks: ‘Astonishing, gorgeous storytelling’. 

Alice Kane is one of Canada’s most cherished and accomplished tellers and you just have to check out this book. And there is lots more about one of Canada’s most distinguished educators and storytellers on the internet. The Dreamer Awakes is published in 1995 by Broadview Press It is still available at both www.chapters.indigo.ca and www.amazon.com. Price varies from $30 Cdn to $45 Am.

v  Elders From Canada’s Storytelling Community

Available from Storysave at Word Press.

This is a unique collection of the recorded voices and performances of ten of Canada’s elders of storytelling. You must check out this amazing archival resource. On the site you can click and listen to any of the tellers and you can order some of their cd’s. This is special service collection offered by Storytellers of Canada (www.storytellers-conteurs.ca) through www.storysave.wordpress.com. 

You can also go the SC-CC webpage and explore the many links to discover other stories and tellers. If you go to the section ‘Member Organizations’, then visit some of the sites for storytelling groups across Canada, each one will have further links to local tellers and lots of stories just waiting for you to learn and tell them in your own community.

v  Storytelling Toronto

www.storytellingtoronto.org

One of the oldest and largest storytelling groups in Canada, Storytelling Toronto is definitely a ‘must visit’ site on the internet. Not only does ST offer skill building courses for beginners and masters, but their site will also link you to many professional tellers. Of particular interest to some members of Peterborough Storytellers, is ‘Pippin’, the quarterly newsletter of the group. It has been published for eighteen years, so you will have lots of archived on-line editions to browse for ideas, stories and articles about the craft of storytelling. And it’s free! Click the 'Newsletter' button.

And In Conclusion...

For storytellers in search of a special story to tell, regardless of the genre you prefer, the internet is surely among the two or three next best things to come along since people first gathered around a campfire on a dark night!

WHEN THE CHILDREN TELL YOU STORIES

“My dear sweet little Billy Goats, there is not enough sweet green grass on this side of the river. Let us cross the Troll’s bridge to the other side of the river to eat the sweet green grass there.”

These are the words I said to the nursery school children as we began our end of the year performance of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. As their teacher, I played the role of the mother Billy Goat and they played my little ‘Kids’. In coaching them to perform I would have one instruction, Stay with the Story.

What a happiness there was for both teacher and child when we could tell a story together. These plays were grand tellings. They took place before an audience of proud parents. Afterwards, the children bowed with smiles and the parents smiled with claps.

The Small Stories

But un-grand tellings produced equal happiness in me. For instance, I would often tell stories using felt pieces at group time. Then I would let the children use the pieces to tell their own versions of the story. I remember once telling the story of the Three Little Pigs and having a four year old boy who often got into trouble saying at the end, “but the wolf was really a good wolf.”

Free Form Story telling

Creating opportunities for the children to make free form stories with toys was an important part of their free play time. I would say, ‘let’s make up a story’.

‘Once upon a time’ and then the children would choose a toy and the story would begin. I would prompt them saying, ‘What happened next?’ or ‘How will it end?’ For younger children I would contribute parts of the story content and we would work out the story together.

The Achievement

There is a feeling of achievement for human beings in creating and telling stories. Perhaps in the old times, stories kept us alive. You might have shared a wolf story to have the child steer clear of wolves. Now, stories keep both adult and child alive in another way. They speak to balancing our emotions and our hopes and dreams. This balancing is particularly important for young children who have limited ability to use logic to think and plan. But all of us are young children in certain parts of our psyche.

Six years ago I retired from teaching young children. It was a difficult time in my life and often in my mind I would repeat the beginning words of the Billy Goats Gruff play:

“My dear sweet little Billy Goats there is not enough sweet green grass on this side of the river. Let us cross the troll bridge to the other side of the river to eat the sweet green grass there.”

The image of the children and I in our Billy Goat ears and tails crossing the Troll’s bridge to get the sweet green grass would instruct me with hope of nourishment and fine places to come. I would remember myself and the children smiling and bowing and then I would feel glad.

Author: Rita Grimaldi (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

COMING SOON...

We are putting together a post of our favourite sources for told stories from all genres. It will appear here by December 21st. You won't be disappointed at our recommendations. Check back then. 

If you have a favourite source for your stories, please send us a note at peterboroughstorytellers@cogeco.ca. Tell us the name of your book or cd, publisher, date of publication or release and give us a brief recommendation blurb about why you like it.

INTRODUCING MARNI GILLARD

Peterborough Storytellers is delighted to introduce you to American storyteller Marni Gillard.  Marni is a popular professional teller whose range of stories and genres is immense. 

As the curator of our Tales and Tips blog and a friend of Marni's, I am pleased she has given us permission to post this recent interview. Marni shares how her family's tradition of telling stories influenced her as an elementary school teacher, deepening her skills and interest in the transformative power of a story well told. Eventually, she left classroom teaching to develop a consulting practice focused on fostering the skills of storytelling among teachers and students alike. At present, Marni has an active practice as a professional teller and educator based from her home in upper New York state. You can learn more about Marni and order cd's and books from her website, www.marnigillard.com. 

 Marni tells a short Irish tale at the end of this interview. Fionn's "The Music of What Happens" is taken from James Stephens' Traditional Irish Fairy Tales.

Here is the You Tube link to Marni's interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EplB8YGL8dk&feature=youtu.be

Copy the link address and paste it into your browser. Click Search. On the net there are many other links to the work of Marni, so take some time to check out more about this delightful teller.

THE RED ROAD LESS TRAVELLED

Quite a few years ago, I was wandering around a large suburban mall on a slow Wednesday afternoon. I had no particular destination in mind but I thought the food court might be a good place to hang out and watch the mall crowd push on by, so that’s where I headed.

You see, it was the first day of December and the mall was teeming with those annoyingly eager early Christmas shoppers. You know the type. They love to get you involved in an apparently casual conversation about shopping for gifts and once you admit that you haven’t even started yet, they smile in a condescending way and loudly tell you and everyone else within a hundred yards that they’re all finished. Well, by the looks of it, these folks were out in force that day, heavily laden down with gaily coloured bags, humming barely recognizable versions of Silent Night or god forbid, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer.

It was while I was sipping from a warm can of Diet Coke and munching on a cold French fry that I noticed him. Over in the corner, in the shadow of a tall scraggly artificial Christmas tree that seemed to only have about half of its slowly blinking lights actually working. Maybe it’s because I’ve read so many spy novels over the years, but I very quickly realized that he was pretending to read a large mall flyer but was actually watching me. This is one of the oldest spy tricks in the world and I had a brief moment of annoyance that if he wanted to spy on me, he could at least show me some respect by using a more sophisticated technique like James Bond would undoubtedly use in a similar situation.

I tried looking in another direction but using the reflection off the nearby HMV store window, I could see him making notes on a piece of paper and watching me even more intently. I was getting a bit unsettled by what could only be called ‘surveillance’, so I got up and headed purposely down toward the Sears store. I paused in front of Laura Secord and pretended to consider what type of dark chocolate I was going to buy. A quick, furtive glance confirmed my growing unease that he was following me, also pretending to be window shopping but really keeping me clearly in sight.

Over the next half hour, I lead him on quite a tour of the mall. I even tried spending some time in the Victoria Secret outlet, admiring but of course, not touching, the lacy bras and panties. He didn’t follow me into the store and disappeared. When I could finally stand the withering stares and obvious whisperings of the VS sales clerks no more, I stood as tall as I could and looking straight ahead, walked confidently out of the store, winking knowingly to the manager who had been slowly working her way toward me with a rather large looking fellow who seemed as awkwardly out of place among the lingerie as I did.

No sign of my stalker who I had started calling Darth Vader in my mind. I strode off for a brief pit stop at the Men’s Washroom before I headed out into the mall parking lot. Standing at the urinal, I was congratulating myself on how I had given Darth the slip. But then there he was, standing at the last urinal at the very end of the row, smiling at me while he looked after business.

OK, this had now gotten too weird and I quickly zipped up, washed my hands and headed for the exit. I decided that I would go to the Mall Security desk, report Darth and let them handle it while I made my escape out of the mall and into my car.

I was about thirty feet from the Security desk, when Darth came in unexpectedly from my right and tapped me on the shoulder. ‘Excuse me, sir’, he rasped, ‘Can I speak to you privately for a moment?’ He now had a firm grip on my sleeve and was expertly guiding me away from the Security desk toward a cluster of four chairs and a table covered with a scattering of McDonald’s wrappers and spilled ketchup.

‘Now look here, Mister, get your bloody hands off me. You’ve been following me around here for almost an hour and I am getting very annoyed’. I thought that I had managed to spit that out with a fair degree of malice and threat in my voice.

But Darth persisted. ‘I have a business proposition for you. One I think you will be very interested in hearing about if you just give me a few minutes. I’m not a stalker. I’m not a weirdo. I work here in the mall as a Human Resources advisor’. And with that he pulled out a red and green lanyard from under his jacket at the end of which was his photo ID. ‘James O’Connor’, he said holding out his hand. ‘And what can I do for you, James?’ I replied with as much frosty cool as I could muster.

‘I think you would make a great Mall Santa’, enthused James, a wide Cheshire cat smile now firmly in place. ‘Your white beard is great, you have a Santa type voice the kids would love and given that little hide ‘n seek tour you just took me on around the mall, your patience must be amazing. They’re the perfect qualities for our Santa’. He paused for a breath and then resumed. ‘The pay is great and we could work out the hours that fit best with whatever it is you do in real life’. Then as an apparent afterthought which he hoped would be the deal closer, he blurted out, ‘We even supply the red suit, belt, hat, bells and black boots!’

Well I would be less than honest with you if I didn’t say that James’ offer to become that year’s Mall Santa was quite flattering. I had immediate visions of me tucked comfortably into the big red velvet chair, looking elegant in the red suit, warmly welcoming little tykes onto my lap and gently comforting the ones who could only stand and cry. Maybe I could even write a best-selling book about my Mall Santa experience. 

But my own two kids were still little and believed without any reservations that Santa was a real, jolly old man who came down the living room chimney, ate the cookies, drank the milk, filled their stockings and left piles of presents under and around the tree. And of course, Santa always took the carrot as a snack for Rudolph who was impatiently waiting up on the roof.

I declined James’ offer as politely as I could and apologizing for behaving like an ignorant dork for my earlier behaviour and comments, quickly made my way out into the mall and disappeared into the throngs of early shoppers.

Every year in early December, I find myself wondering what would have happened if I had taken the road less travelled and become the Mall Santa. Maybe now that I am retired, I should give it a try. I just know that I’d look really great in that red suit!

Written by Don Herald (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

CHRISTMAS EVE IN HOLLAND

Some years ago a friend of mine asked me to play my harp at her mother’s memorial service, which took place in an artist co-op, both her parents having been artists.  Her father, a surrealist Dutch painter had died the year before, and now her mother, an actress and singer was having her own memorial service.  I remember this service as being something of an ordeal because it lasted about two and a half hours, with every artist and performer in the building feeling they had to make a contribution. 

However, there was one thing that touched me deeply, and that was a reading from one of her mother’s memoirs. It chronicled their last Christmas Eve in Holland before the end of World War Two.  Just going by my memory, it would have read something like this.

Christmas Eve arrived and found us all cold and very hungry.  There was very little food in the house and every stick of furniture had been burned – it was our only source of heat and only means for cooking food.  The only thing we had not been able to bring ourselves to burn was the old piano that stood in the parlour.

Nevertheless, we did manage to find a few sticks of something that had not yet been burned, and we lit a small fire to boil water for a few cups of tea.  Somewhere we had scrounged up a tea-bag – possibly it had been saved for a special occasion.

I had a hard time getting my husband Henry out of bed.  Not only was he weak from lack of food, but the bed was the only place that was still reasonably warm.  However, after some prodding and nagging he grudgingly got dressed and came to the parlor to have his tea. 

How grateful we were that the old piano was still standing. We gathered around it and my sister began to play the old Christmas carols.  At first our voices were weak, but gradually we found the strength to sing them with the passion and enthusiasm that they deserved.  Despite our cold and our hunger, some of the magic of Christmas transformed and lifted our spirits that night.  Surely God would end this nightmare that we had been forced to live through.  Never before had I been so moved, singing the old carols that proclaimed peace on earth and love for all mankind.

And then suddenly, outside somewhere a grenade or bomb exploded.  We all dived onto the floor and covered our heads with our hands – there was no furniture to hide under.   All of us lay there shocked and terrified – except my sister.  As in a trance or daze, she had continued playing the piano, uninterrupted by the explosion.  When we recovered our senses, we all began to laugh hysterically.

Little did we know that the Canadian army had covered strategic territory that night, and that our liberators were only miles away.  Within a few months the war was over for us.   

  

I guess that story always moves me deeply, because my own parents lived through that war – except they were on the other side.  They were Germans, yet the horrors of the war were just as terrible for them.  I’m sure they too would have gathered around singing carols on Christmas Eve just like that Dutch family. 

How lucky our generation is, that we have never had to go through the nightmare of a world war.

Author is Angelica Ottwell (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

MY FIRST STORY TELLING EXPERIENCE

I was first introduced to Story Telling by a friend.  I had never heard of adult story telling before.  I asked her if I had to do or say anything and she assured me I just had to sit there and listen.  I am good at that, so I went with her.

 

The person that was in charge that evening gave us all a piece of paper with a short story on it. She told us to partner with someone we didn't know and after spending a few minutes reading the story, we had to tell it to our partner.  I looked over at my friend and she looked as startled as I was.  I thought, of course I can do this as the person who was my partner was smiling and quite friendly.  After this exercise the leader said alright we are going to go around the circle and each tell their little story!!  I looked at my friend again, only this time I had a look of terror on my face.  I thought Oh no!!! I only want to sit here and listen.  Everyone else took their turn, so I did the best I could, very thankful when it was over.  My friend, who knows me well, said she thought I was going to bolt for the door, which is exactly what I felt like doing.  However, I stayed, and thoroughly enjoyed the remainder of the evening and have not missed a story telling night since.

I took Rita Grimaldi’s Story Telling Workshop, and found it very helpful.  Our stories were critiqued but in a very safe and encouraging way, and positive suggestions given.  We were all there to learn how to tell a story, so it was a very comfortable, friendly and non- judgmental atmosphere in which to learn.  This was most important to me, because if it had been otherwise, I probably would not have come back.

I also went to the Biblical Story Telling weekend at St. John's Anglican Church in October.  We were given a story in one of the workshops and asked to read it and then tell it to a partner.  This time, it was my friend I was partnered with, so I was totally comfortable.  After reading it over, I told first.  When I finished telling the story, my friend advised me that we didn't need to tell the entire story, only the first part! After that I thought to myself, I think I can do this story telling thing!

I decided for my first story, to tell one I was familiar with, hence The Birth that I told on November 21.  I typed it in large print and divided it up into sections.  As suggested, I read it several times and then learned one section at a time.  I practiced it multiple times, as again I was told when you learn your story really well, it helps with the nervousness.  Whenever I had the chance I practiced on my friends and family.  I feel that story is now in my long term memory, and hopefully I will always remember my first story.

 

I was quite nervous before I started to tell, but the nerves settled down as I continued. It was quite exciting for me to step so very far out of my comfort zone and actually stand up in front of people and tell a story. I never thought I would have the courage to do that. The positive feedback I received was most encouraging, and makes me want to learn and tell another story!  I think I am hooked!   My feeling is that if I can do it, then anyone can!!

Thank you to the seasoned story tellers that gave me such encouragement and help.  I can see that Story Telling is an exciting skill to develop.

Author: Sylvia M (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

RE-BALANCING THE PSYCHE THROUGH STORYTELLING

       

Yesterday I told a Scottish fairy tale at the November gathering of the Peterborough Storytellers. As the story was long, I broke it into three parts and placed discussion and Jungian theory in between the parts. The story remains with me this morning. Parts of it come to my mind and begin to reach out to parts of my past that need re-balancing.

         

The boy in the story is abandoned as an infant in the forest. His mother is powerless to stop her child being taken away. She dies soon after from the sorrow of loosing her child. As a young girl my own mother died of multiple sclerosis. She was powerless to prevent this death and I felt abandoned without her. An old woman who lives alone in the forest finds the infant boy. This old woman takes the boy to her cottage and cares for him. She loves him like nothing on earth. When I stopped the story we discussed the difference between the boy’s first mother, the queen and his second mother the old woman in the forest. People said that the first mother was powerless to keep the boy but the second mother- the old woman – was self sufficient in the forest and able to care for the infant.

         

Today, the morning after the telling of the story, these two mothers have a deep resonance with me. I think about my own mother as powerless to remain alive and I think about all the second mothers I have known in my life – strong women who have nurtured me in music, learning and the arts. In the story the boy grows up well in the care of the second mother and so have I. I feel a rebalancing in absorbing this element of the story - a reframing of life experience in a positive light.

Fourteen people came to storytelling last night. They listened and discussed this story and other stories told. It is my hope that each person went away with some insight that could be applied to his or her life. I know I did.

Author: Rita Grimaldi (Rita is the co-founder of Peterborough Storytellers)

FIVE REASONS WHY I LIKE STORYTELLING

REASON 1: IT PUSHES MY COMFORT ZONE

Three years ago when I first began attending Peterborough Storytellers, I was no stranger to telling stories as part of my job, with family and friends and occasionally to the nice, but bored lady at the local Tim’s drive-through window. In fact, my wife and kids would say that I rarely met a crowd or audience that I didn’t like and at the slightest hint of interest, would launch into an amusing anecdote or personal story!

I went along as the interested but curious guest of a relative to my first ever Storyteller’s meeting. It was held in the auditorium of the local library and about ten or twelve other people were already there. Chairs were arranged in a semi-circle around another chair that was facing the circle and on a swatch of fabric on the floor in front of the chair was a ‘talking stick’. Tradition in storytelling circles is that the teller of the moment holds the stick as a symbol that they have been given the authority by the listeners to talk uninterrupted.

That evening, several of the more experienced members of the group told tales they had adapted or taken directly from myths, folk lore or legends. I was impressed with how each of these women crafted their story, performing it with such energy and enthusiasm. Everyone listening, myself included, were drawn into the stories in such a powerful and often unexpected way. I just had to be part of this night, so unexpectedly I found myself picking up the talking stick and sharing a personal story from my time as a social worker. I was hooked. From then until now, I have held the stick at just about every gathering.

I quickly realized that I had a great deal to learn about choosing and telling an interesting story. Prior to this, I thought I was an exceptionally good teller of ‘real life’ tales and anecdotes to workplace audiences. But to translate those skills and that experience into the public storytelling venue would demand much more thought, careful selection of story theme and message, lots of practice followed by even more practice. And even some coaching.

As I watched my local tellers perform their stories not only with words but drum, flute, harp, song, masks and amazing character voices, I realized that if I was going to do well at this new activity, I had to get far more disciplined about my preparation and delivery. I had to invite both helpful and critical comments from my group members, take a storytelling course or two, attend other telling events with fresh tellers that I didn’t spend time with on a regular basis. Instead of reading only what my wife somewhat sarcastically calls ‘Who Shot The President’ type books, I had to make room for books, articles and videos on the art of storytelling by some of the best author-tellers in the US and here in Canada. It was all going to be a new and I admit, strange and unfamiliar genre for me.

I have been at it now for almost two and a half years. I’m a reasonably good teller but I know I could become even better with more focused learning and practice. Yes, I still often feel awkward in my new storytelling comfort zone, but I think that’s as it should be. What do you think?

To be continued…

Written by Don Herald (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

FIVE REASONS WHY I LIKE STORYTELLING

REASON 2: YOU MEET INTERESTING PEOPLE

People have always fascinated me. Everyone has a story to tell and over the years I’ve heard many. All the way from the totally weird, gross and disgusting to exhilarating, marvelous and inspiring tales from folks I don’t really know at all to my friends and family with whom I share intimate moments.

Maybe that’s the main reason I became a counsellor, educator and consultant. I worked hard at it for over forty-three years. When my kids were teenagers, they often warned their friends who would meet me for the first time, ‘Watch out when you meet my Dad. The next thing you know, you’ll be telling him stuff that you’d never tell anyone else!’  Being a good listener, someone who listens with both head and heart, thankfully just comes naturally to me. And I treasure many of the personal life stories that were given to me over the years. It’s from that vast storehouse of shared stories that I create most of the ones that I tell at storytelling gatherings.

Attending these events, both as a listener and a teller, has introduced me to many others who share a strong interest in the art of storytelling. It always surprises me when, introduced through the shared experience of listening to a well told story, a person I have never met before, invites me into their private world of experiences, thoughts and opinions. Tragic stuff. Totally funny stuff. Odd stuff. Deeply felt experiences that are often unfamiliar to me personally but through what is chosen to be shared, I begin to gain a new appreciation, a helpful understanding that I would likely have never had if not for this moment with them.

In my limited but growing experience, the men and women who enjoy telling tales and do it as often as they can in front of public audiences, equally enjoy talking about their own journeys of self-discovery through telling and listening. While each story is unique, they all share the qualities of passion and excitement, sometimes wonder and often a burning desire to have meaningful, unspoken conversations with those that hear their stories.

This past summer, I spent a leisurely afternoon in the cool shade of an aging barn sharing favourite tales with tellers from slightly afar, most of whom I had never met before. As often happens, each teller preceded his or her story with why this story was being told and usually, what this story meant to them personally. The glimpse into personality, lifestyle and relationships that these mini-stories revealed intrigued me. During dinner, I moved from person to person, asking about their story or telling them how their tale resonated with me. Even though I was the most novice of tellers in this gathering, some enthusiastically offered encouragement and helpful insights about my stories and performance.

Recently I spent three days immersing myself in the stories being told at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. In its fortieth year, nearly twelve thousand enthusiastic fans of storytelling made what I can only now call an annual pilgrimage from all over the continent to listen to well told tales from all genres by some of America’s best and beloved tellers.

But it was the listeners from whom I leaned the most. Before or after presentations, spontaneous conversations would begin among strangers. Usually it started with an opinion about the story, the performance or the artist but then quickly moved into the sharing of personal telling and listening experiences.

I remember talking with a recently retired locomotive driver who had been a cop before that. He had stopped me in the street outside the tent about an experience he had as a cop in the mid-west because in the story I told in a Slam competition earlier, a cop character triggered a memory he wanted to share. With noticeable emotion, he told me of growing up in a Home for Boys from an early age. But since retiring a year ago, he was now avidly pursuing storytelling as a retirement activity that someday he hoped to turn into his third career. He shared some incredible stories of the men and women with whom he worked on the railroad and a few of the perils facing crews. I think he will make a compelling and passionate teller.

Or how about my brief conversation with an older woman I judged to be close to eighty sitting behind me in a huge tent? Like me, she was waiting for the next performance to begin. She was in a flamboyant style dress with striking jewelry accessories and an attractive wide brimmed floppy hat. We struck up a conversation and I quickly learned that she herself had been a teller at the Festival for many years but now she came just as a listener. so I hesitantly asked if she was still telling stories. ‘Why, my oh yes, young man. In fact next month I am doing a one woman show that I wrote to explore getting old.’ Her entire being glowed, she sat taller and her blue eyes sparkled with the pleasure and anticipation of it all. A snippet of a marvellous life story only hinted at that had started just with a casual encounter! 

Looking at me intently, she asked how long I had been coming to Jonesborough. I replied that this was my first time and in fact I was telling a story in the Slam competition later in the day. With this news, she smiled and offered me helpful words of encouragement while wishing me well in future storytelling projects. Coming from her, who I sensed was probably a legend among tellers, made me feel as if now I was really becoming part of a much larger community of storytellers that reached well beyond my local group in Ontario. We shook hands warmly just as the performance began. Even now, I find myself thinking about her and wishing I had heard more of her life story that day. I wrote down her first name on a slip of crumpled paper I found in my backpack. I hope that will be enough to track her down and learn more about her life. Maybe there will even be some videos of her telling tales and that would be a special treat for me.

So, the next time you attend a storytelling event, look around you, find someone who you would like to know more about. Then go over, introduce yourself and ask. I guarantee that you will indeed meet an interesting person.

And better still, you will both be richer for the conversation.

To be continued…

Written by Don Herald (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)

FIVE REASONS WHY I LIKE STORYTELLING

REASON 3: IT AWAKENS MY CREATIVE SIDE

The stories that I like to tell are not usually from myths, legends or folk tales. I prefer real stories about the human condition that are drawn from my personal and work experiences. As a social worker for many years, I have been privy to situations that often show people at their very worst, in periods of great emotional stress, living with the consequences of decisions that may not have worked out well for them. At the other end of the scale, I been privileged to witness instances of great joy, triumph and love which provide reassuring evidence of the strength of the human spirit and intellect.  All of these experiences provide what master teller and author Jay O’Callahan calls ‘nuggets of pure gold’ that through my stories, I try and hold up for examination and admiration by my listeners.

I’ve always enjoyed telling stories. My stories have made people laugh, cry, gasp in surprise, nod their heads in recognition, pause and reflect or oftentimes say, ‘You know that reminds me of a story…’. While I also like to write about things that go on around me, most of the time I would be more comfortable telling than writing about it. But I never thought of myself as a true ‘teller of tales’.

Until I discovered Peterborough Storytellers. Ever since my very first, unrehearsed, spontaneously told anecdote, awkwardly holding the talking stick, my relationship to stories told and listened to has changed forever.

More than ever before I find myself listening much more carefully in conversations with family, friends and co-workers. I catch myself trying to listen in on the chatter going on around me in restaurants, the movie theatre, the gym, the barber shop, service centre rest room or on the street. I am always hunting for an interesting anecdote or fragment of whispered gossip, a unique phrase or word, a voice tone or body gesture that I can turn into a story. Some days I fear that I am becoming a tidbit junkie, deliberately hanging out in places where I just might get my ultimate fix for a potentially great told or written story.

Since I retired several years ago, I have more time now to examine my ‘story collection’ and decide what either goes on display to the public through my telling or writing or what stays hidden away on either my computer’s hard drive or in my memory, perhaps to be re-discovered later, polished up and brought out front for everyone to experience in their own way.

Telling ‘real life’ stories publicly has forced me to start writing them down before I tell them. I write short stories several times a week about life events that I think others would enjoy reading about. So far, thirty-seven of them have made it onto a personal story blog that I recently created. And I enjoyed blogging so much I volunteered to curate the Tales and Tips blog of Peterborough Storytellers where you are now reading this story. The more I write, re-write and then tweak a story just one more time, I am learning how to be a better craftsman of structure, situation, character and storylines. I know this would never have happened if I had not discovered storytelling.

Taking a written story and re-shaping it into a version suitable for telling has given me more focus and discipline as a teller. Watching and learning from a live audience reacting to my stories has led to unexpected insights into elements of the plot that listeners are connecting with which in turn sends me back to the written version to tweak it some more. Once done, I bring it back again to another audience and the process starts again.

Another benefit of storytelling for me is feeding the hidden actor in my nature. Many years ago, on a whim, I auditioned for a part in a community theatre production. To my surprise, I got a good part in the play but significantly under estimated how hard it would be for me to learn the lines as the author wrote them. I was terrible. It was three months of maximum stress and I am sure my struggling gave the Director and his crew many sleepless nights! It all worked out well in the end but I took a solemn vow after our last show that I would never go on the stage again.

But now with storytelling, I find myself back on a stage of sorts. Skilled tellers are also performers, assuming the roles and personalities, voice and gestures of their story’s characters. Watching and listening to them, gives me an aspirational goal to work toward. My creative side is getting a work out and once again I am back on the stage. That’s a cool thing for me.

Most everyone has their special, creative moments that sustain them from week to week, month to month, year to year. Right now, it’s the art of storytelling and listening that does it for me. What about you? What about giving storytelling a try to set free your creative Self?

To be continued…

Written by Don Herald (A member of Peterborough Storytellers)