Press Play to hear Nothando Zulu speaking on participation on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Nothando Zulu writes..
Participation, Participation, Participation...

I began telling stories as a member of an acting ensemble in 1976, presenting storytelling as a major part of our repertoire. We worked primarily in park and recreation centers and schools. As members moved away or went into other fields, we evolved into‐ and I cofounded ‐ the Black Storytellers Alliance (BSA) in direct response to the demand for storytelling to deliver the inspirational and cultural lessons embodied in our stories.

Early on I encouraged members of the audience to share the storytelling space by becoming a part of the story and one of the characters in the story. On many occasions, I was unable to use all the audience members who wanted to participate! It was wonderful to have so many trying to join in the storytelling process and reinforces oral storytelling as a powerful medium. Therefore, I decided to use a kind of birthday system for who I would choose:

• I start with participatory stories in mind
• I ask the audience who had a birthday in the prior month
• Depending of the number of positive responses, I decide on the story to
present.

One example is Ananse and His Six Children. If I receive more than six positive responses, I make some twins or triplets and sometimes quadruplets! I may use the age of the participant to determine the specific role of each participant. In the story Ananse and The Moss Covered Rock, Little Miss Bush Deer has to be at least a third grader, to understand and answer “No” to each of the questions asked by the Ananse character. When the participant is younger, (s)he may miss the concept and answer in the affirmative.

Audience participation is fun and most effective when the storyteller has extensive experience with audience inclusion.

Breif Bio
Nothando Zulu is a Master storyteller who has been sharing stories with audiences for over 30 years. She shares stories that entertain, educate, motivate and inspire. She has performed at many venues locally, nationally and internationally. She draws from an extensive resource of colorful, often funny characters whose antics and follies leave audiences pondering their own life’s lessons. As Director of Black Storytellers Alliance, she and her husband with the help of the Board of Directors has produced a three-day storytelling festival celebrating the art of Black storytelling called, “Signifyin’ & Testifyin’” (now in the 17th year). Nothando is also a wife, mother, grandmother, community and political activist who believes in the power of stories.

Read more about Nothando Zulu on her website http://www.yourfavoritestorytellers.org/nothando-zulu.htm
and on the Black Storytellers Alliance Website http://www.blackstorytellers.com/

Brother Blue was born in Cleveland, Ohio on July 12, 1921. An exceptional student, he served in the US Military from 1943-1946 in both theaters during World War Two; he was honorably discharged as a First Lieutenant. He obtained an AB from Harvard College, an MFA from Yale School of Drama and his PhD from Union Graduate School.

By the late-1960s Brother Blue, always accompanied by his wife Ruth, was telling stories on the streets, in prisons, in classrooms and more. His stories always allowed the listener to imagine bigger worlds, see themselves in the heart of the tale and believe that they, too, were storytellers. Brother Blue said that he told stories, “from the middle of the middle of me to the middle of the middle of you,” and that if you heard another person’s story you could never harm them, so stories could save the world. He never stopped telling stories.

Brother Blue ran a storytelling series in Cambridge for over 20 years, where many storytellers found their own voices. Brother Blue and his wife Ruth always listened with uncritical and loving ears, encouraging everyone. He received multiple international awards for his art and was the official storyteller of both Cambridge and Boston.

Brother Blue is survived by his wife Ruth Edmonds Hill, his sister Beatrice Hill, his niece Lynda Hill, his nephew Thomas Hill and hundreds of storytellers.
Visiting hours are on Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 2-4pm and 6-8pm at Keefe Funeral Home, 2175 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge MA. The internment will be on Monday, November 9, 2009 at 1pm at the Pittsfield Cemetery, Pittsfield MA. In lieu of flowers please send donations to the League for the Advancement of New England Storytelling (www.lanes.org) and the National Association of Black Storytellers (www.nabsinc.org). For obituary, directions or to send a condolence visit www.keefefuneralhome.com
Brother Blues Website
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—–storytellers Brother Blue and Ruth Hill
———————–
Your stories live on in many hearts and minds. Your love of storytelling continues on for years to come in the hearts of the children. Your gifts grow in the eyes and ears of the storytellers you have encouraged over the years. Let heaven celebrate your entrance for your coming has been expected. Here comes a saint of old long coming! Here comes a man of the ages long foretold. Let the gates be thrown wide for his entrance; let the holy ones bow to greet him. For he has reached for the spiders web and the angels eyes in the heart of a child. For he has told in the darkness and lighted a candle in the wind of time. Let us all remember that this man stood shoulder to shoulder with the angels themselves while he still walked the earth.

You will be sorely missed.

Brother Wolf
Yellow Springs, Ohio.
PS: As may be obvious to many of you Brother Blue represents the highest ideal of storytelling that I search to reach. Hence my storytelling name. My physical commitment to storytelling made manifest. I will miss him.

Press Play to hear Baba Jamal Koram speak the responsibility of being a storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #085 Baba Jamal Koram for $2.23 Storytelling as Responsibility.

Baba Jamal Koram is a storyteller in the African American Griotic Traditions, he is a dedicated practitioner and teacher of the spoken word traditions and is a respected leader in the world of storytelling. Baba Jamal is a groundbreaking storyteller, educator, folk drummer and organizer. He is a past president of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. and is a 2001 recipient of its prestigious Zora Neale Hurston award. Called a storyteller’s storyteller, and a Griot's Griot he continues to travel across the nation sharing his stories and his presence with thousands of school children and their families. Baba Jamal holds the B.A., M.S. and Ed.S. degrees, and is married and the proud father of children, grand children, and godchildren.

This master storyteller uses his stories to inspire, encourage, and to uplift the positive growth of our children and in our communities.

He has said:

“My South Carolina great grandmother Mary would say to her grandchildren, “Bring me a cool glass of water, and I’ll tell you a story. Then she would proceed to tell them one of those traditional African American Gullah stories, about Bruh Rabbit or one of the many folkloric characters. . . I follow in her storytelling footsteps. . .Call me if you have a cool glass of spring water.”

For More information on Baba Jamal Koram check out his website: http://www.babajamalkoram.com/

I will not share or give away your email address.

And don’t forget to subscribe by iTunes or your browser to The Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf so you can get bi-weekly inspirations from Bother Wolf direct to your desktop. Read the info on the right to find out how. It’s free and it’s super simple.

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #068 Dylan Pritchett for $2.23 What Makes a Great Storyteller?

Bio
Dylan Pritchett is a native of Williamsburg, Virginia. Since 1990, Mr. Pritchett has been a full-time storyteller, taking his African and African-American folk tales averaging over a hundred schools annually throughout the country. He enjoys an twelve-year, professional association with the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where he performs and leads workshops for teachers on using storytelling in the classroom. Drawing on his experience in historical research, he has created two classroom presentations; “Scraps of History,” which uses real documents from the 18th and 19th centuries to weave African-American history into the fabric of the American past and “Bringing History to Life” which teaches students how to research, write and tell heir own personal and unique family stories.

Also, in conjunction with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, The Kennedy Center, and The Satellite Education Resource Consortium in Columbia, South Carolina, he developed a five-week course teaching middle school students how to write and present stories of women and children, black and white, that lived during the Civil War era. Students are lead step-by-step through the creative process using primary and secondary documents to help the students conceptualize, write, learn and tell their individual story. Dylan offers a 3- or 5-day residency variation of this course in teaching students how to research, write, and tell their own personal family story about their Grand or Great-Grandparents!!! Teachers love it because of it’s integration across the educational objectives in various curriculums, oral presentation emphasis, enhancement of the student’s personal growth and the added merger with the arts!!

Dylan’s work extends beyond the classroom to museums, arts centers, historical sites, television and recordings. In addition to recording several albums of folk tales, he has created the voices of many historical characters on museum recordings and exhibits. One of his favorite assignments is researching and presenting real life characters from our nation’s past for such prominent institutions as the Smithsonian Museum, Colonial Williamsburg. Anacostia Museum, Monticello, Gunston Hall, Meadow Farms Museum, Valentine Museum, National Oregon Trail Interpretive Center, Museum of the Confederacy, and a host of others.

Dylan, (pronounced DIE-lan), is honored to presently serve as President of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Inc. and it’s mission, and continuous purpose, of passing on the African oral tradition to future generations! He is also proud of his award winning children’s picture book The First Music published by August House.

More on this Dylan Pritchett the storyteller at http://www.yourfavoritestorytellers.org/dylan.html

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #067 Mitch Capel Grandaddy June Bug for $2.23 Poetry and Storytelling

Grandaddy Junebug writes…
Good storytelling is like poetry to your ears…good poetry is storytelling at it’s best. Storytelling and poetry go together like hand in glove. Ninety percent of the stories I tell are in rhyme so I coined the term “sto’etry” to describe my unique style of telling.

At the tender age of three, my paternal Grandmother read to me the story poem “A Cabin Tale” from the “Life And Works Of Paul Laurence Dunbar”. The genius of this work coupled with the joy in my Grandmother’s eyes and the passion in her delivery left an indelible impression in my heart. Since 1985 I have been performing the works of Dunbar, myself and others at festivals, schools and other venues throughout the United States.

Storytellers in general are unaware of the vast potential poetry can add not only to the repertoire of the teller but, also to the “flavor” of the performance. This is especially true with venues for children. A vast majority of young audiences are familiar with the “Rap” genre of music and are, therefore, more inclined to not only enjoy the performance with greater appreciation but also to digest more of the content of the morals and affirmations. “Sto’etry” is “Rap” without the music with each child supplying his or her own “beat” to the vocals, which, in turn actually seems to garner more satisfaction as one seems to “enjoy the book more than the movie”. Older audience members are also appreciative of this style because most, in their youth, were taught the values of poetry and the importance of memorizing and reciting for different groups within their respective communities.

Come with me as we explore the unlimited possibilities poetry can add not only to storytellers, but, to story listeners as well.

Most storytellers shy away from utilizing poetry in performance because of the need to “memorize” verbatim as well as the inability to “ad lib” during the show. It is true that poetry lends itself to a certain rhythm, however, once you’ve crawled into the skin of the poet your voice becomes the vehicle and your words become the steering wheel that guides the listeners (travelers) on the journey. A good storyteller wouldn’t have any problem “playing” to an audience or “ad libbing” while utilizing the “sto’etry” style of telling.

About Grandaddy Junebug
Mitch Capel was “born and raised” in the small town of Southern Pines, North Carolina and was introduced to the world of storytelling at a very early age by his parents and grandparents. His grandmother, Elnora Leak Capel, read “A Cabin Tale” from the Life and Works of Paul Laurence Dunbar to him when he was three years old. The rhythm of the story and the genius of Paul Laurence Dunbar was planted like a seed. Mitch and his brothers were encouraged by their parents to memorize the works of great poets to recite at church and civic events. It wasn’t until he had finished college, moved back home and started working with his father in the family business that Dunbar would re-enter his life. His father, Felton Capel, shared stories of his youth and “creek talk” (a term used to describe the dialect of his hometown of Windblow) and one day gave Mitch the same Dunbar book that had been used by his grandmother. His father said, “if you love that ‘creek talk’, you’ll love this” and he handed over the book. Mitch’s father was right…the next seven years he studied that book, examining every word, every nuance, every moral and every intention of the author.

After re-discovering “A Cabin Tale”, Mitch started reading the story to his kids every night and eventually memorized it. He told a friend the story one day, was invited to recite it at a banquet where there were teachers in attendence, who subsequently invited him to their school. The seed that was planted twenty seven years earlier was being nourished and beginning to sprout. He developed a character, “Gran’daddy Junebug” to deliver the words because he felt a young man wouldn’t be as convincing. The character is a tribute to his own grandfathers who passed when he was young, two elderly gentleman he “adopted” to fill the void and a way to pay respect to other elders. The “blossoming” was evident when Mitch’s grandmother reached the point where her memory was failing her and he sat on her bed and started reciting “A Cabin Tale” at which point she start reciting with him, then laughed and said “boy, you remembered that story!” Not only did he remember, but because of his grandmother and his parents, he is now one of the most sought after entertainers in the world!

Mitch Capel is a storyteller, recording artist, poet, actor and author who has been bringing stories to life and delighting audiences mostly throughout the United States with his warmth, wit and compelling storytelling style since 1985. He is considered “the national interpreter” of poet laureate Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872-1906) and it is his voice you hear as “Paul Dunbar” at the Wright/Dunbar Interpretation Center in Dayton, Ohio. He has done “voice overs” for Dunbar on film and has memorized over 70% of Paul Laurence Dunbars’ work. “Gran’daddy Junebug” has been described as “a national treasure”, “a transformer of lives”, “unexpectedly powerful” and “a word magician”…he coined the term “sto’etry” to describe his stories recited poetically. Continuing his family tradition of preserving culture and teaching through stories, “Gran’daddy Junebug” teaches personal responsibility and respect for self and others through the African oral tradition of “call and response.” He utilizes audience participation to share his wisdom on being true to self, finding your right path, coping with peer pressure and always doing the best you can. The stories are developmentally appropriate for all ages, or as he likes to say, “from the day care to the rest home.” He has received numerous awards for Artist of The Year from many national organizations as well as various accolades from state and local government agencies recognizing his work with youth. He is the co-founder of The National African-American Storytellers’ Retreat, has been featured twice at The National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tenn., annually at the travelling National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference since 1988 and the Signifyin’ & Testifyin’ Storytelling Festival held in Minnesota. He is the official emcee at two National “Liars’ Contests” and has been featured on National and International Public Radio. Mitch was the first performer to grace the stage at the newly opened National Underground Railroad and Freedom Center in Cincinnati, Ohio and was invited back to do his production of “Christmas On The Plantation” the following December.

Mitch has produced four award-winning storytelling cassettes, three compact discs and has published a motivational children’s book entitled “The Jealous Farmer”. He recently collaborated and performed on a series of DVD’s: “Jump Back, Honey Jump Back”, “In Days Gone By”, “Stories For Grown Folks” and “The Kings and Queens of Storytelling”. His program, “W’en Dey Listed”, a journey through the life of various colored soldiers in the Union army during the civil war, was premiered at the National Gallery of Art’s National Teacher’s Institute in Washington DC in July 2005 to rave reviews and was requested and performed twenty-three times the following February for Black History Month. His recent stage credits include “To Kill A Mockingbird” and “Driving Miss Daisy”. Mitch has been married to the former Patricia Peek since 1980 and they have two sons (now grown) Christopher and Julian. His hobbies include collecting the works of Paul Laurence Dunbar, writing, landscaping and collecting art. He is also an avid golfer because he says “it was a pre-requisite for growing up in the Pinehust/Southern Pines area. I love the challenge, the beauty and tranquility that golf courses have to offer. Besides, golf is a lot like storytelling in that it teaches us valuable life lessons.” “Gran’daddy Junebug” leaves his audiences with the ancient wisdom and cultural knowledge of cooperation, collective responsibility, the importance of community, shared goals, empathy and always striving for excellence. Mitch Capel studied speech and theatre at North Carolina A&T State University and Howard University, but more importantly, he is a full time honor student at the “University Of Life”.

Check out more info on Mitch Capel
http://www.gjbug.com/

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #069 Charlotte Blake Alston for $2.23 Breaking Barriers using Storytelling

Charlotte Blake Alston writes…
My introduction to literature and the planting of seeds that later bloomed into storytelling, came in the 1950’s. In the midst of a social, political and cultural climate that suggested that my family and community were devoid of intellect, history or culture, my father began reading to me the literary diamonds and jewels that came from within our culture. Somewhere around 6 years old, my father read out loud the words of James Weldon Johnson, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Gwendolyn Brooks and Langston Hughes. My father relished and touted the genius of these writers. He handed me the Complete Poems of Paul Laurence Dunbar, selected a poem for me to memorize and launched me, as a child, onto a spoken word path. Numerous church banquets, teas and special community events were staging grounds for “a reading by Miss Charlotte Blake”.

I’ll share some memories of that time and fast-forward to the place where those germinating seeds and my experience in an independent school crossed paths with storytelling and an immediate realization of the power of this art form. On I faculty of 70, I was one of three faculty members of color. One particular event at the school served as a reminder of how invisible we often were, of how a genuinely well-meaning (and I really mean that!) community could unknowingly participate in perpetuating stereotypes and marginalizing members of their community. My concern was the statement those actions made to the children in the community. When I encountered storytelling, I immediately saw it as a window, a bridge, a tool I could use; a way in which initially children, could access, affirm, value and appreciate a cultural perspective that was different from their own.

That two-story repertoire (plus a set of Kiddie Rock& Roll songs!) later expanded to incorporate stories for all ages. I’ve since told at home and abroad in schools, festivals, concert halls, detention centers, a refugee camp; in collaboration with jazz musicians, choreographers and symphony orchestras. One of my most storyteller-reaffirming moments happened in a refugee camp in northern Senegal. So come on in! It’s okay. This will not be psychologically heavy duty! I am not an academician. This will be a chance to peek inside my head, listen to my heart and perhaps hear a perspective, a view that might serve you well in your own work.

“See you” on the pod cast.

Bio

BIOGRAPHY

Charlotte Blake Alston is a Philadelphia-based storyteller, narrator and singer whose interest in literature, the oral tradition and the arts began in childhood when her father read to her the work of writers and poets and encouraged her to learn and recite the dialect poems of African American poet Paul Lawrence Dunbar. After 21 years of teaching from the preschool through graduate levels, Charlotte chose to devote more time to touring and performing.

Today, Charlotte breathes life into traditional and contemporary stories from the African and African American oral and cultural traditions. Her solo performances are often enhanced with traditional instruments such as djembe, berimbau, nkoning, mbira, shekere or the 21-stringed kora. In 1999, Charlotte began studying the kora and the West African history-telling traditions of Senegal, Mali, Guinea and Guinea Bissau. Her teacher is the highly respected Senegalese griot (jali), Djimo Kouyate. Her repertoire is wide and programs are adapted to any age audience or grade level.

She brings her stories and songs to national and regional festivals, schools, universities, museums, libraries and performing arts centers throughout the United States and Canada, as well as local and national radio and television. Charlotte is the first storyteller to perform with the Philadelphia Orchestra on both their Children’s and Youth concert series. Since 1994, she has been the host of “Sound All Around”; the orchestra’s pre-school concert series and continues to appear as a guest host and narrator on family concerts. Charlotte also hosts “Carnegie Kids”, Carnegie Hall’s Preschool concert series and has been a featured artist on the Carnegie Hall Family Concert Series in NY since 1996. She has been a featured teller at The National Storytelling Festival, The National Festival of Black Storytelling, and at regional festivals throughout North America. She has been a featured artist at both the Presidential Inaugural Festivities in Washington, DC and the Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Children’s Inaugural Celebrations in Harrisburg, PA.

In addition to her solo performances, Charlotte performs with her brother, world-renowned jazz violinist, John Blake, Jr. and his band in Tellin’ On The Downbeat: A Program Of Storytelling And Jazz. In Fiddlin’ With Stories, Charlotte and John perform as a duo featuring violin and kora, in a program that celebrates the role of stringed instruments in African and African American culture. Charlotte also performs in American Storyfeast with nationally known storytellers Gayle Ross (Native American) and Jon Spelman (European American). This unique concert celebrates each teller’s respective cultures through traditional and contemporary stories. She has collaborated with numerous instrumental ensembles as well as dance companies. She has been a featured narrator for several orchestras and conductors including The Philadelphia Orchestra, The Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Cleveland Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony, Orpheus Chamber Ensemble and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Band.

Charlotte’s narrative voice can be heard on documentaries including Plenty Of Good Women Dancers, The Peddie School, and Crosstown. She herself was featured in the award-winning documentary Family Name that aired around the country on PBS. Kinocraft Media Productions converted her “Martin Luther King Storypoem” to video format for educational distribution. The video is entitled A Closer Look: Martin Luther King. She is a regular guest reader on WNYC New York’s Prime time with PJ.

Charlotte has received numerous honors including the prestigious Pew Fellowship In The Arts in 1994. She was selected as Philadelphia Magazine’s “Best Of Philly”® 1995. She is the recipient of the 1997 Commonwealth Of Pennsylvania Artist Of The Year Award (The Hazlett Memorial Award). The award recognizes individual artists “for…excellence in the Commonwealth.” She holds two honorary PhD’s from Seton Hill and LaRoche colleges respectively and was one of four Americans selected to perform and present at the first International Storytelling Field Conference in Ghana in August of 1999. She was the Director of “In the Tradition…” 14th National Festival Of Black Storytelling in 1996

Learn more about storyteller Charlotte Blake Alston at her website: http://www.charlotteblakealston.com

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #066 Michael D. McCarty for $2.23 Storytelling and literacy in the 21st century.

Michael D. McCarty writes…
That which does not evolve dies. The ability to change, grow and adapt is essential to the survival of any species, society or ideal. Storytelling has been around since the dawn of man, which says a lot for the viability of this essential art form. Throughout human history stories have been used to inform, inspire, educate and more. Storytelling is part of our DNA.
So what is the role of literacy and storytelling in the 21st century? How is it evolving? The National Storytelling Network’s Storytelling Interest Groups (SIGs) give an indication. Storytelling has entered the business world and the Storytelling in Organizations SIG, Annette Simmons’ books, “The Story Factor” and “Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins” and a host of other books and individuals are taking it there in a big way.

The Storytelling in Higher Education (SHE) and Healing Story Alliance (HSA) SIGs promote storytelling in colleges and the healing arts respectively, while the Youth, Educators and Storytellers Alliance (YES) champion the value of storytelling in the classroom. The Producers and Organizers (the only SIG without an acronym☺) SIG brings together those who produce storytelling events. These folks are constantly working to make storytelling enticing to new audiences.

On another front, since 1997 The Moth, which is headquartered in New York, New York, has been conducting Story Slams, i.e. story competitions, which have brought in a whole new group of people to storytelling. The most prominent group is the twenty & thirty something’s that come in small numbers to traditional storytelling events, but come in droves to The MOTH.

A critical task for Storytelling is combating illiteracy. One of the most shocking bits of data is the alarming rise of illiteracy in America. People are reading fewer books and the ability to spell is going out the window. I’ve worked with middle and high school kids who couldn’t read a simple children’s book or pronounce a word over two syllables without difficulty.
The positive impact of storytelling in fostering literacy has been well documented (check out www.storynews.org). The challenge for storytellers is to be proactive in making sure the education community is made aware of and utilizes storytelling and storytellers to this end.

The Los Angeles Reading Project (LARP) places storytellers in pre-schools telling stories to the children AND the parents and teaching the parents to read and to tell stories to their kids. A director at one of the pre-school sites noted that parents told her that their kids wanted to hear stories rather than play with their high tech toys and games! This is a great example of how literacy and storytelling in the 21st century are tied closely together.

The art of storytelling is alive and kicking. It’s up to those of us who love it to continue to spread the word.

“The stories people tell have a way of taking care of them. If stories come to you, care for them and learn to give them away. Sometimes a person needs a story more than they need food to stay alive. That is why we put these stories in each other’s memory. That is how people care for themselves.”
Barry Lopez

A short bio for Michael D. McCarty
Awards and Grants
Public Corporation of the Arts Grant (Long Beach, CA) 1994 -1999
Candlelight Award for Sharing Hope 1998 (South Africa)
National Storytelling Network’s 2003 Leadership & Service Award (Pacific Region)

Performance Highlights
Armand Hammer Museum California Afro-American Museum
The House of Blues, Los Angeles African Market Place, Los Angeles
Knott’s Berry Farm
Fowler Museum-U.C.L.A.
John Anson Ford Theater Plaza de la Raza, Los Angeles
African Festival of the Arts,Chicago Whole Life Expo, Los Angeles
Bay Area Storytelling Festival Santa Monica Museum of Art
Autry Museum of Western Heritage National Storytelling Conference
Summer Solstice Folk, Dance, Music & Storytelling Festival
Co-Director Los Angeles World Storytelling Festival (2002, 2003)
National Storytelling Festival (Exchange Place)
Museum of Contemporary Art

Check out Michael D. McCarty’s Website….

Tired of the tin sound? Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #063 Donna Washington for $2.23 The Anatomy of a Scary Story

Donna Washington Writes…
Why do kids love ghost stories? I asked my eleven year old son this question because I have discovered that my academic and empirical observations about these sorts of subjects often bears little resemblance to the actual answer. He was good enough to inform me that he loves the fact that the characters are frightened and they have no idea what is about to happen next. He didn’t say word one about wanting to be scared. In other words, it’s the idea of the scary thing being someplace far away from you so that you can have a good scare in a safe place and then walk away and be all right. Just for the record, that’s what I thought. In other words, I agree with the expert.

http://www.donnawashington.com