This is an excellent site for finding and
researching traditional stories.
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/folktexts.html
Appalshop has clips of storyteller Ray Hicks on ‘real
audio’ and streaming video. http://www.appalshop.org/rayhicks/
Storytelling in America is flourishing! Almost every
state has storytelling festivals, conferences and other
annual events. There is a vast grassroots movement with
local, state and regional storytelling guilds and organizations,
such as the North
Carolina Storytelling Guild and the Storytelling
Arts of Indiana.
On the national level there are two main organizations
devoted to storytelling. They are both headquartered in
Jonesborough, Tennessee where the American storytelling
revival was jump-started by the first National Storytelling
Festival in 1973. The success of that first festival led
to the founding of the National Association for the Preservation
and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS), which eventually
changed its name to The National Storytelling Association
(NSA).
In 1998, The National Storytelling Association, in an
effort to better serve the needs of the diverse storytelling
community, divided into two separate organizations, National
Storytelling Network and the International
Storytelling Center.
Both organizations are dedicated to advancing the art
of storytelling - as a performing art, teaching aid, and
cultural transformation process.
The National
Storytelling Network is a membership organization
that offers services, publications and educational opportunities
to individuals, local storytelling guilds and associations.
These services are designed to improve the quality of
storytelling at all levels - in entertainment venues,
in classrooms and libraries, and wherever storytelling
can make a contribution to quality of life. To facilitate
that process, NSN sponsors the National Storytelling Conference,
the National Storytelling Awards, offers a calendar of
events, publishes the Storytelling Magazine and promotes
an annual event of storytelling around the world called
Tellabration!
The International
Storytelling Center produces the National
Storytelling Festival, staffs the Education and Interpretation
Center and has a program of Tellers in Residence. It
is focused on the advocacy of storytelling as an art
form that brings positive change in all areas of human
endeavor and is dedicated to conserving the history
of storytelling. The Center features a resource center
and 200-seat performance facility where the power of
story can be demonstrated for the benefit of educators,
therapists, attorneys, political leaders, and the corporate
world.
Other helpful sites:
Ray Hicks was
a master storyteller - and a dear friend and mentor.
He was recognized and honored as the Patriarch of Southern
Traditional Storytelling; through his stories and generosity,
he gave us old-world gifts that have enriched our modern
lives beyond measure. A fund has been established for
the well-being of his widow and son. Donations are appreciated.
The
National Association of Black Storytellers
The
National Storytelling League, founded in 1903 to promote
storytelling in local communities.
For our Canadian friends: The
Storytellers School of Toronto
You can now get a Masters
Degree in Storytelling at East Tennessee State University!
Clinical anthropologist Robinette
Kennedy, Ph.D., leads spiritual archaeology tours
to the Greek island of Crete and Southern Albania – an
area rich in ancient stories.
Nancy Shapiro-Pikelny has created a powerful story about
the children in the Terezin Concentration Camp during
World War ll. She debuted her story, A
Window of Beauty,
in Whitwell, Tennessee. This remarkable community is
the subject of the award-winning documentary Paper
Clips.
Author Marie Bartlett has more than 20 years of experience in creative nonfiction writing. She now also coaches writing students one-on-one to help guide the writer's journey.
For a variety of information on storytelling resources, festivals, workshops and more, check out NSN's links page.
Artist and dear friend, Damaris Pierce, taught me how to transform ordinary rock into sweet gnome homes. Take a look.
Storyteller & web researcher Karen Chace has great storytelling links on her site.
