Press Play to hear Ben Nind speaking on how Storytelling is Essential to Community Health and Life on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
Storytelling Is Essential to Community Health and Life.
Do we really have to justify why this is so? Are we so removed from ourselves as purveyors of stories that we actually need to rationalize, in some manner or form – why storytelling is essential? This is an odd question because it means that I have to somehow divorce story from the human experience and that is an impossible task.
The glue that holds all of the pieces together is story past, present and future. Birth, marriage, divorce, life, death, addiction, celebration, grief and victory are woven with stories in every window and door that we pass in our day to day existence. Without stories there is no community, there is no activity and the world is just one big cold ball of rock hurling through the blackness of space.
Is storytelling essential to community life? Say no more. Just listen and let me tell you a Read more »
Press Play to hear Lloyd Arneach speak on a Cherokee perspective on Native American Storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
This Post will be updated by Tuesday – if you want some more thoughts from the guest please come back then –
Biography
An enrolled member of the Eastern Band of Cherokee, Lloyd Arneach was born and reared on the Cherokee Reservation in Cherokee, North Carolina. He learned his first legends from two storytelling Uncles on the reservation.
From 1970 to 1990, Lloyd traveled throughout the state of Georgia, lecturing on Cherokee history and culture. This was done in his spare time while working for AT&T’s computer department in Atlanta. In 1990, he added storytelling to his presentations on culture and history and in 1993 began a full-time career as both storyteller Read more »
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
for $2.23
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 »
Here is a list of ideas for starting a storytelling festival in your school or your community.
Ways to get it started. (You pick which one you want to start with.)
• Find a few teachers and/or parents and offer to tell a story in the teachers’ classrooms. Start suggesting the idea that students can also retell or 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 Michael Cotter speak on farming the heartland of American storytelling on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
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Farming the Heartland of American Storytelling.
Brief Bio
Michael Cotter is the first national storyteller to perform personal stories on the main stage at Jonesborough, TN. He is a semi-retired farmer and winner of the 2009 oracle award for excellence in storytelling.
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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Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #048 Esyllt Harker
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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 »
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Press Play to hear Doug Elliot talk about using storytelling to support nature based education on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
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Purchase a HQ Mp3 File of Interview #090 Doug Elliot
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Sharing the Passion of Nature through Storytelling.
Doug Elliot Writes…
How do you find a story in nature (or anywhere else for that matter)? I often start with an incident, an encounter, a problem or a question-something happens to you, you meet someone, see something, or you wonder about something. The narrative I tell is my journey of investigation, trying to figure it out.
The incident is your hook, not only to your listeners when you’re storytelling, but also to yourself as an explorer and an investigator. Then I let my curiosity be my guide. I start asking questions. Any journalist will tell you your ability to get a good story is often directly related to your ability to ask good questions. The first and probably the ultimate resource is yourself. How do/did I relate to that incident, encounter, problem or question? How did I feel?
The next step might be an initial resolution concerning 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 »
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Storyteller Contact Information
Brother Wolf Storytelling
Eric James Wolf
P.O. Box 711
Yellow Springs, Ohio. 45387
(937) 767-8696
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