Articles

By Noa Baum A young storyteller came up after a performance and said to me: “I was so moved, your story was so expressive, I could never tell like you!” I remembered feeling like that… I grew up in Israel and was an actress and a storyteller in my native language – Hebrew. When I […]

by Kristin Pedemonti Joy is contagious in a good way. Whether it’s Blowing bubbles on Subways, offering Free Hugs, or sharing Stories world wide that connect culture; I seek to build bridges between people, to illustrate we are more similar than we are different. Arriving on stage on my Big Wheel, I announce “We all

By Sara Armstrong Who are your heroes? Do you consider yourself one? How important is it for children to believe they can perform heroic acts and make a difference in the world? Inspiring stories, short films, and artwork focusing on these ideas and more can be found at the MY HERO Project website. At a

By Katie Knutson Katie Knutson is our New Voices chairperson who shares her articles for Storytelling Magazine on our blog to inspire a place for discussion and follow-up.  Comments encouraged! Storytelling is the most effective tool I have found for teaching, connecting people, fostering understanding, and building community. When in a community, individual storytellers unite

by Adam Booth I recently attended a garden party in Cleveland to celebrate my friend Sarah’s musicology doctoral graduation. She has spent the past few years studying Anne Botta, a 19th century salonnière whose New York home was an important gathering place for writers, musicians, artists, and at times, celebrities. Sarah’s research looks past identifying

By Laura Simms I organized a salon series called PASSIONATE CONVERSATIONS – The Power of Storytelling. The first took place May 20th.  Two Australian storytellers were in the city:   CAROLINE JOSEPHS and DONNA JACOBS SIFE.  They swept us up in a storied palaver about peacemaking, personal story, healing and the support of women and ancestors. Caroline spoke about

by Sarah Beth Nelson When I was working in the children’s area of a public library there were two sisters who befriended me and who came to the library once or twice a week. One day, when only the older girl was there we started telling silly jokes. Here is one of the jokes I

by Mary Grace Ketner Between “Once upon a time” and “happily ever after,” each fairy tale presents a brilliant metaphor for one stage of life. In the course of a fairy tale, the protagonist leaves a state of innocence to navigate a path through territory dense with risks and challenges. With courage, integrity, and persistence,

by Andy Offutt Irwin For my contribution to the NSN Blog, I am much too lazy to offer anything different than what I am already working on, which at this time is a book on humor theory.  E.B. White wrote, “Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process

by Sue Black After a recent storytelling program for bullying prevention, a boy broke out of the line exiting the school gym, ran up to me with a smile, and said, “Mrs. Black, thank you! Maybe this will make a difference! Maybe kids will stop picking on me now.” Then he adjusted the oversized glasses