Press Play to hear Octavia Sexton talk about Jack Story and how this traditional tale belongs to everyone on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf Show.
Octavia Sexton writes… I think most people probably know that a Jack Tale is a trickster story and Jack. They’ve been around for over 800 years – originating in the British Isles. The stories came to North America via European settlers. The stories told in the Appalachian Mountains began to change through the years to reflect the environment and cultural traditions that emerged among the mountain people.
I grew up in a storytelling tradition and stories were a part of life. I heard a variety of stories not only through kinfolk but also at school. I went to a one-room school and the only thing to do at recess was sing songs, tell stories and play games that did not require ‘stuff.’ We didn’t have any ‘stuff’ to play with because we were all just a bunch of poor country kids. I think I established myself very early as a storyteller. I remember being 5 years old and standing on a big rock in the yard of one of my uncles’ houses and telling tales to my cousins, aunts and uncles who gathered on the big front porch. We had all kinds of stories, but I never knew what a Jack Tale was until I went to college.
After eighth grade, Mommy asked me if I wanted to get married or go on to high school. I went on to Read more »
Press Play to hear Sankofa, aka David A. Anderson speaks on Historical Storytelling and Cultural Identity on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
David A. Anderson/Sankofa
In 2009, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture convened, at the Washington Mall, several members of the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS) to “give voice,” to “explore the expressive power of the creative African American verbal arts and oral traditions in the shaping of American culture and communication.” Through stories [and] words of wisdom, . . . we NABS sisters and brothers . . . evoke[d] themes dealing with “hearth, home, and community.” Read more »
Press Play to hear Victoria Burnett speak on Stories that Sing on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
It has always been my belief that the arts represent a key component in the effective presentation of the storytelling experience. From my earliest experience as a classroom teacher in the Washington D.C. area and later as a librarian in California, I recognized the power of integrating the arts in storytelling to teach through various curriculum.
If we as storytellers and educators recognize and respect the fact that Read more »
Press Play to hear Ruth Stotter speak on working with props in storytelling performances on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf.
(Link was broken NOW fixed – sorry about that.)
Ruth Stotter Writes…. I love the idea that as a storyteller, you travel light. A “bag” of stories takes up no room and is easy to carry around. But I also love interspersing stories with props – both as a folklorist carrying on old traditions and as a way of adding a visual component. Puppets, masks, and origami are among my favorites. You asked why I am currently so intrigued with string stories Read more »
Press Play to hear Laird Schaub speak about The Application of Story to Group Facilitation and Community Living on the Art of Storytelling with Brother Wolf
Laird Schaub Writes…
“As a consultant, I’m often asked to work with groups that consider themselves stuck. In helping them understand how they got there and the choices they have to move through it, I always start with the stories-the way in which each person makes sense of their reality as a member of the group. Invariably, the stories don’t all match. Sometimes the realities are Read more »
Press Play to hear Brother Wolf speak with Tejumola Ologboni on Walking the Talk with Street Storytelling.
A little more on the Artist…
Teju of Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a master storyteller and folklorist of international renown. He draws listeners into stories with gestures and movements, and sometimes with music made on traditional Africa instruments. Some of his stories are filled with Read more »
The best part of this report is half way in… but worth watching…
Here is quote from the man in 1993… Do you feel you’re carrying a message from Africa?
Let’s be modest. Africa is vast, and it would be pretentious to speak in its name. I’m fighting the battle with words because I’m a storyteller, a griot. Rightly or wrongly, they call us masters of the spoken word. Our duty is to encourage the West to appreciate Africa more. It’s also true that many Africans don’t really know their own continent. And if you forget your culture, you lose sight of yourself. It is said that “the day you no longer know where you’re going, just remember where you came from.” Our strength lies in our culture. Everything I do as a storyteller, a griot, stems from this rooting and openness.
Environmental Storytelling, Episode List, Magical Child, Peace Storytelling, Storytelling in Community | Brother Wolf | 
November 30, 2010 5:24 pm | 
Comments Off on Octavia Sexton – The Jack Story a Traditional Tale for Everyone. 
