Category Archives: storytelling

Oct30

unreliable narrator.

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i love telling stories about things that have happened and each time I tell them (just ask my family and friends), they may be just the slightest bit different, but they are as I remember them. perhaps i’m an unreliable narrator, as memoirists are known to be, and i’m okay with that-

‘I won’t tell you the story the way it happened, I’ll tell it to you the way I remember it.’

-Pam Houston

the actual definition of an unreliable narrator as written into literature or film, is the following:

 an unreliable narrator is a character who cannot be trusted, one whose credibility is compromised.They can be found in a wide range from children to mature characters.

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‘I think that at the end of the day I’m drawn to a certain level of ambiguous storytelling that requires hard thought and work in the same way that the New York Times crossword puzzle does: Sometimes you just want to put it down or throw it out the window, but there’s a real rewarding sense if you feel like you’ve cracked it.

-damon lindelof

Sep23

boundless.

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sss

enter this charming store

 like walking into a dream

towers, and dragons, and costumes, and animals, and castles, and art, and toys, and books, and puppets

surrounded by enchanting hand-painted murals

 a circle where story tellings and puppet shows and theater play are shared

 imaginations are encouraged and play flows freely.

‘the world of reality has its limits; the world of imagination is boundless.’

-jean-jacques roussseau

Feb15

how do you begin?

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how interesting to see how different cultures/languages might start their books. the last one is pure fun.

how do stories start in your culture/language?

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 how some have responded:

Hungarian tales mix a lot of them, but my favourite is like: “Once upon a time, where it wasn’t, far beyond the glass mountain, where the short-tailed piglet roams, there lived a(n)….”

My mother used to say “When Donkeys wore high hats and Hyde Park was a flower pot “

Romanian : “There was once, as if never, because if it weren’t, the story wouldn’t be told”

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“we are the storytelling animal. “

-salman rushdie

 

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source credits: StoreyBook reviews, erma bombeck writers workshop

Feb7

read aloud.

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*celebrating  world read aloud day

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“we have an obligation to read aloud to our children. to read them things they enjoy. to read to them stories we are already tired of. to do the voices, to make it interesting, and not to stop reading to them just because they learn to read to themselves. use reading-aloud time as bonding time, as time when no phones are being checked, when the distractions of the world are put aside.”

-neil gaiman, english author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre, and screenplays

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*World Read Aloud Day is celebrated on the first Wednesday in February.  This is a day dedicated not just to reading, but to the art and practice of reading aloud. Stories were passed down from generation to generation even before writing was invented. Oral forms of storytelling were the earliest way of preserving human knowledge, insight, and creativity. This day helps us bring this tradition back to reading while promoting literacy.

 

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art credit: ‘gnome’ by rien poortvliet, illustrator

May13

fantastical.

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one of the best parts of spending my days teaching

is hearing all the fantastical tales

that spring from the kinder

with their open eyes and open hearts. 

 

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image credit: nicolette sowder, wilderchild

Aug3

storytelling.

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not us, but actors with a similar communication style

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getting together with my friend yesterday to catch up,

with our usual mutual understanding:

“if i’m telling you a story be prepared to have 7 mini conversations and 19 other stories thrown into it.”

Jul23

“photography is telling stories.” – jim spillane

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attending the annual ann arbor art fair

i had great luck and the honor of meeting

photographer/human rights advocate, jim spillane.

i happened by his stall

drawn in by the beauty and subjects of his photographs

especially taken with his pictures of children

after much thought

finally decided on one

a young tibetan child

tiny hands held together in hello.

i asked jim his story

how he had come to take these stunning pictures all over the world.

once a criminal defense attorney in the gerald ford white house

representing vietnam war draft resisters seeking amnesty

he got sick, had a horrible experience

 changed his life

trained with an ansel adams associate

began traveling the world

taking photographs of people

his subject is the human condition and the connections and responsibilities we have for each other.

using his pictures as a way to create interest, open discussion, communicate, call attention to a cause

he has worked taking photographs of workers at a nepalese brick factory for many years

created a photo book of the workers

to speak out and to tell their stories with his photographs

still seeking to help those in need and to be an effective advocate for them.

he is a natural artist, storyteller, teacher, advocate, and man.

—

“in recognizing the humanity of our fellow beings, we pay ourselves the highest tribute.”

-thurgood marshall, former justice of supreme court of the united states

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link to his website: jimspillane.com

link to his book, ‘the face of bricks’: https://www.blurb.com/b/9897011-the-face-of-bricks

Jun20

finding dabls in detroit.

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i recently went with a group of colleagues/friends

to find the artist, dabls

working on his block in detroit

where we learned so much from him

an experience i’ll never forget

dabls’ installation-‘iron teaching rocks how to rust’ 

artist/storyteller dabls

uses materials as metaphors

to pass on his stories

of african and european art/cultures

open to everyone

he can be found working and sharing stories

on this abandoned block

that he has reclaimed

as his own and the community’s

most every day

dalbas mbad african bead museum

where each of his beads tells a story

dabls’ art has brought this house to life

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 “Stories are able to help us to become more whole, to become Named.

And Naming is one of the impulses behind all art;

to give a name to the cosmos, we see despite all the chaos.”

-Madeleine L’Engle

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The Kresge Foundation elected Dabls as “2022 Eminent Artist”

to recognize his accomplishments in the arts as well as his lifelong impact on Detroit’s culture.

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to read his full story go to:

http://www.mbad.org/best-friends

or just stop by to see him.

Oct25

full of life.

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what an honor and a joy

to see the culmination

of my dear friend, breeda kelly miller’s

 hours, days, months, year, spent

writing, creating, staging, rehearsing, distilling

and bringing the story of her mother, mary kelly

to life on stage at the world premiere

of her emotional and brilliant one-woman play,

Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home.

 the arthur miller theater, ann arbor, the university of michigan

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“you should feel a flow of joy because you are alive. your body will feel full of life.

that is what you must give from the stage. your life. no less. that is art: to give all you have.”

-anton chekhov

 

 

 

 

 

Directed by Brian Cox, a Pencilpoint Theatre Production. Go to mrskellysjourneyhome.com for updates. 

 

Jul20

short story.

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this blue door with the round window never loses its magic.

 

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“a short story is what you see when you look out of the window.”

-mavis gallant

 

 

 

 

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oakland county, michigan, usa