Who Says?: Essays on Pivotal Issues in Contemporary Storytelling (American Storytelling) - Softcover

Birch, Carol; Heckler, Melissa A.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0874834546 ISBN 13: 9780874834543

Publisher: August House, 2011

Synopsis

Winner of Storytelling World Award & Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award

Contemporary storytelling has its roots in the oral and literary traditions. Performances are often judged according to the aesthetics of print, theater, or music – even television and film. In the last two decades, the storytelling movement has gained momentum, both as an educational tool and as engaging form of entertainment.

But the revival is so young that there is no common vocabulary for discussing it. What are the aesthetics of storytelling? These ten essays provide models to think with. Most of the contributors are storytellers; they are also anthropologists, writers, folklorists, musicians, and teachers and librarians. Provocative, challenging, and robust, these essays address critical issues in an increasingly potent movement.

About this title

About the Author

Carol Birch Bio:

Carol's work is known for her compelling blend of energy, warmth, and vulnerability. Thirty years of experience have earned her a respected place in the forefront or professional storytellers: teaching at Southern Connecticut State University; lecturing at forty-one universities across the nation, as well as professional and corporate organizations. Carol has produced a number of audio-anthologies, along with writing a number of highly respected resource books on storytelling. She's been a featured storyteller six times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, and she has performed throughout the world in Australia, Germany, Norway, Singapore and North America. In 1998, Carol received the National Storytelling Network's Circle of Excellence Award given to storytellers recognized by their peers as master tellers, setting standards for excellence, and demonstrating a commitment and dedication to the art.

From Library Journal

As the art of storytelling enters its third decade of revival and gains in artistic respectability, more than "folk" have become interested in it. In this collection by writers, anthropologists, and folklorists as well as storytellers, the editors, both educators and storytellers themselves, intend to explore "the relationship between oral cultures and print cultures." The focus, however, is a bit fuzzy. Barre Toelken, for example, currently director of the Folklore Program at Utah State University, contributes an article entitled "The Icebergs of Folktale: Misconception, Misuse, Abuse," while writer/storyteller Joseph Bruchac discusses "The Continuing Circle: Native American Storytelling Past and Present." Despite uncertainty about the purpose, the essays are well written and, while not intended to give definitive answers, may help to establish a common vocabulary about storytelling and to widen the discussion among professionals in the field. Recommended for libraries with strong education and folklore collections.?Katherine K. Koenig, Ellis Sch., Greensburg, Pa.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: August House
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0874834546
• ISBN 13: 9780874834543
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224