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 […]
Inheriting the Life of the Party Details »
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
Passionate Conversations Details »
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
A duck walks into a bar… Details »
Told by Yvonne Young Listen to story I chose to tell “Lifting the Sky” at the Pacific Showcase Concert to honor deceased Skagit elder Vi Hilbert. Some years ago, I had the privilege of hearing Vi tell this tale. The message this story contains is important for audiences elementary school age through adults. If people
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,
Our Lives in Fairy Tales Details »
told by David LeBarron Listen to story I had so much fun at the NSN conference and was glad to be able to perform this story. I was nervous about taking my own spin on a classic, which has always been my thing: including setting Othello in the basement of a gang’s meth lab (oddly
Great Grieving Goddess Details »
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
Evidence of the Original Sources of Humor Details »
Told by Willy Claflin Listen to story My dad got this all started – he told me stories every single night from about age 3 to 10. This is my favorite story about my dad, told at the 2010 National Storytelling Conference in Los Angeles; he would have loved participating in it with us. Hope
Who Has Seen the Mind? Details »
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
Just One Piece of the Puzzle: Storytelling for Bullying Prevention Details »
Told by Rick Huddle Listen to story I really appreciate that, when I’m working on a story, I usually learn something about myself. For this one, it was how much self esteem that I got from being a “good kid.” Funny how, no matter how much I grow and learn, that’s still true for me.
