Press Play to hear Emil Wolfgang speaks on Carrying the Pacific Island Storytelling Culture Forward on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Emil Wolgang spoke at length on the role that storytelling can play in pre-industrial culture in the island culture of the pacific. Using stories as both a way of sharing knowledge of environment and cultural identity. Read more »
Art is not limited by state budgets, the few hours of life apportioned or others acceptance. The only limitation of art is our desire to embrace art as we know it and to love that expression that calls us into our passion – into our being – into the voice of God. Of all the arts, storytelling is the most able to thrive despite budgets cuts, institutional ignorance and community apathy. Storytelling brings people together and serves as a beacon for community healing.
To be an artists is to give yourself over to a creative process that promise no fruit with each effort. But instead enlightens our lives with a gift that can only be declared – soul. Art in it’s purist form is God’s hand in our mortal lives. A living testament that their is more to our lives then this simple physical frame. To be an artist is to see the Read more »
Press Play to hear Jimmy Neil Smith about the future of the International Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling Center with Brother Wolf.
Photo Courtesy of Fresh Air Photo
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Jimmy Neil Smith
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The Future of the International Storytelling Center
Jimmy Neil Smith writes…
In the early 1990s, I attended a conference of the Tennessee Arts Commission in nearby Johnson City. During the session, potter Bill Strickland spoke about the arts-based Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild and Bidwell Training Center in inner-city Pittsburgh—an institution, founded by Strickland, that teaches low-income, inner-city youths an employment skill.
Strickland spoke eloquently about his institution and its program. His address was stirring and powerful. Then, as a closing, Strickland said, “I challenge each of you to go home and build an institution that confirms and makes real what you know.”
Strickland’s challenge inspired me.
Less than a year later, the National Storytelling Association announced the development of what would become the International Storytelling Center—the organization’s first permanent home in 30 years and a “launching pad” for a series of national and international programs, products, and services.
It was Strickland’s challenge that would give birth to the institution that has become the International Storytelling Center. The Center campus—now composed of the elegant Mary B. Martin Storytelling Hall, Historic Center Inn, and the Storytelling Community Park—opened in June of 2002.
Through the work of ISC, we are seeking to confirm and make real what we know about storytelling—the ancient tradition that is as old as humankind yet as modern as this morning’s headlines. Now, in 2010, ISC is launching an Read more »
The Art of Storytelling Show has had over 115, 000 downloads since it began podcasting in 2007. Created by Brother Wolf (Eric Wolf) in the spring of 2007 , the show brings the best and brightest of the storytelling community to the world stage.
The Art of Storytelling Show is the world’s sole interview- format show dedicated to exploring the art and science of storytelling in all its forms. With over a hundred interviews available for listening to online at http://www.artofostorytellingshow.com, this podcast is becoming the premier resource for understanding and practicing the art of storytelling worldwide.
World-wide listenership of the Art of Storytelling Show continues to climb with over 44,000 downloads in the second half of 2009. International participation in the audience of the Art of Storytelling show has climbed to 37% despite the URL and name change. Here is a map of countries with more then 85 downloads in the last six months of 2009:
Press Play to hear Michal Malinowski speaking on the Storytelling Museum of Poland on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
A storyteller – shaman from Altay in Siberia at the festival of Intangible Heritage organized by the Storytelling Museum.
Interview #094
Michal Malinowski
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The Storytelling Museum of Poland
Michal Malinowski writes… The Storyteller Museum is a unique institution devoted to the collection, preservation and promotion of oral heritage from all over the world. Our mission is to save the vanishing examples of intangible treasures, acquaint new generations with the oral tradition of a variety of cultures and revive the custom of storytelling. Nonetheless, our attention is also devoted not only to tribal storytelling but also to contemporary trends in oral expression. The Museum has been the leading place in Poland to developed the storytelling revival movement. We have organized Storytelling Festivals and workshops in our location and other places in the country
The Storyteller Museum has an innovative approach to collecting and exhibiting different cultural artifacts by applying the latest achievements of digital technology. Our interests pertain not only to narrative texts but also to Read more »
Press Play to hear Christine Carlton and Jenni Cargill have a conversation on Australian Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
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2 Australian Storytellers
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Examining the Skeletons in the Cultural Closet.
Written by Jenni Cargill-Strong
Eric asked what does it mean to be Australian? Ask 20 different Australians these questions and you might get 20 different answers.
Christine explained and I’d agree, that it can be hard to define the Australian identity, because we have such a diversity of cultures. Many Australians arrived in recent decades since World War 2. The Aboriginal population is less than 2% and most Aborigines live in isolated inland rural areas, whereas most Australians live in cities on the coast, so most Australians don’t have much direct contact with Aboriginal people or culture.
I would agree with Christine now that yes, if you were to generalize, as a people, we are mostly laconic, relaxed, friendly and we have a great sense of humor. Like any country, we also have our shadow, our racism and unresolved issues. However at least Aboriginal issues are much more on the table to be openly discussed now, our Prime Minister gave the apology* to the stolen generation** that many of us had been waiting for and progress is slowly happening with land rights.
Despite all the struggles of Aboriginal Australians, as we both mention in the interview, we now have not only Read more »
Press Play to hear Esyllt Harker speak on stories out of Welsh History and land of Wales. on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
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Stories out of Welsh History and Land of Wales.
On the teller…
Esyllt Harker is a versatile singer and storyteller, performing in English and/or Welsh. Her material draws primarily on her strong Welsh roots – myth, legend and history mix with gleaned fragments found in the features and memories of the land. She is noted for her Read more »
Press Play to hear Dr. Sherry Norfolk speak on why would should use storytelling in school settings on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
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Why storytelling should be in Schools.
Sherry Norfolk Writes…
Last year, I taught a 3rd grade storytelling and creative writing residency in St Louis. The kids I worked with were typical – meaning that every child was different from every other child. They each had unique interests, skills and abilities. They each had different life experiences and different needs. Typical class, right? So…what? Why am I telling you about these typical kids?
Because they WERE typical! Because in that class, there were some kids who HATED to write and some kids who NEVER paid attention in class and some kids who HATED to get up in front of people for any Read more »
Press Play to hear Anne Glover speak about Finding Your Authentic Voice in Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling.
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Finding your Authentic Storytelling Voice.
Anne Glover writes….
Here are two things I feel passionately about in storytelling: authentic voice, and connection to the audience. They are closely intertwined. Some people think “authentic voice” means “no character voices.” If you’ve heard my dialogues with the character “Monkey,” you know that I use character voices, particularly for comedic episodes, as Eric learned when he interviewed me. (Have you recovered yet, Eric?) But when I use those other voices, I make a clear distinction in my voice, my brain, and my body between the character and my narrator.
As both a performer and a listener, I prefer a natural voice for the narrator persona. Sometimes as tellers, we think we need to be doing “more.” We alter our voice, add more breath, and drop to a different register, as if “storytelling” required something other than our true selves. It doesn’t. In fact, it demands that each of us bring our true self to the fore, without letting our ego get in the way of the story. This requires that we constantly watch ourselves and our deep intentions, with ferocious honesty.
Sometimes we get so wrapped in the notion that storytelling requires a special voice, that we get in the way of the story. Some people want to know how to “find” their authentic voice. Here’s a technique I like. I might say, for instance, Read more »
Press Play to hear Tim Tingle speaking about the historical perspective of Native American storytelling. on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Tim Tingles Bio.
Tingle is an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, a sought-after speaker and storyteller, and an award-winning author of Native American fiction and folklore. Choctaw Chief Gregory Pyle has requested a story by Read more »
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Storyteller Contact Information
Brother Wolf Storytelling
Eric James Wolf
P.O. Box 711
Yellow Springs, Ohio. 45387
(937) 767-8696
Some overseas storytellers and storytelling presenters have found email to be blocked by spam filters. If you wish, you can also reach me in a few days at
Environmental Storytelling, Episode List, International Storytelling, Storytelling in Ceremony | Brother Wolf | 
March 9, 2010 7:47 pm | 
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