Articles

by Carolyn Stearns There was a long hushed pause before a young woman began to speak; her story spilled out.  She heard strange voices, muffled and distant, the eerie lights coming in the windows, the glow of eyes outside peeking in, the child in the bed trembles at the alien invasion. There were no aliens, […]

By Susanna Holstein The school visit was all that I wanted it to be: well planned, well received, a joyful, thoughtful sharing of stories and songs with over 500 children, parents and teachers. It was an affirmation of what I do. During the times when I have no storytelling work I turn my focus to

by Mark Goldman To the logical, pragmatic, no-nonsense, Type-A personality that I am, the concept of appreciations in storytelling was initially lost on me. Appreciations felt like a “nicey-nicey-fluff-give-them-positive-first-but-doesn’t-help-teach-them-or-move-them-to-change” process. Why not just tell them what they need to change? I would silently think, “Enough of this touchy-feely stuff. Give them meat to chew on!”

By Laura Packer The recent resurgence in fairy-tale based media, such as movies (Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty), TV shows (Once Upon a Time, Grimm), literature (Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Bill Willingham, and others), and games (The Path) makes it clear that these stories have deep resonance in our culture. But what is it about

By Katie Knutson In the New Voices column in Storytelling Magazine, I have been focusing on making connections between the storytellers we often see at NSN events and the younger adult tellers out there, who do not find their way to our festivals and conferences. On November 11, 2012, adults of all ages packed a

by Lauretta Phillips I am making a New Year To Do list. No resolutions. They get buried in the pile on my desk to make me feel guilty later.  2012 went by so quickly that I find myself reflecting back to see what I missed.  I really missed those face to face hugs I usually

by David Claunch I have recently been fascinated with the concept of the “Now.” Eckhart Tolle has written several books on the subject with thought provoking statements like: “Nothing will ever happen in the future; it will happen in the Now. Nothing has ever happened in the past; it happened in the Now.” Superficially, one

By Cathryn Fairlee My Master’s Thesis in History was on Professional Chinese Teahouse Telling and I presented samples of these styles at the NSN conference in Cincinnati. Professional storytelling was passed on orally from master to apprentice for generations, for there was no respect for those who were not taught for a number of years

by Liz Nichols Have you ever walked in to a nursing home, assisted living residence or adult day care center with a bag full of stories and a heart full of hesitation? Or dare I say dread? Or, do you love telling stories to older folks, but find yourself somewhat frantically trying to keep them

by Zalka Csenge Virág Zalka was our New Voices guest writer for the 4th quarter issue of Storytelling Magazine. Her article is posted here to inspire a place for discussion and follow-up. Comments encouraged! Many people see role-playing games (RPGs) as obscure imaginary worlds, heavy rulebooks, and nerdy teenagers rolling multi-sided dice in their mother’s