This is the seed of The Storytellers' Journey, Joseph Daniel Sobol's history of the past thirty years of American storytelling. In this compelling examination of the contemporary search for myth, Sobol explores the social and psychological roots of the storytelling revival and the ever-resurgent power of the storyteller. Drawing on interviews with dozens of storytellers around the country, Sobol paints the revival as part of a larger process of cultural revitalization. He traces the growth of the preeminent revival organization, the National Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS), and details the individual passions, the organizational politics, and the economic, social, and mythic forces that have combined to transform a ragtag assemblage of enthusiasts into a national and international network of arts professionals. A seemingly chance encounter between a restlessly ambitious high school teacher and a coonhunting tale on the car radio sets off a chain of inspirations that changes the face of a small southern town, touches lives across America, and revitalizes a homely but treasured art form.

"We the Storytellers provides examples and techniques for expressing deeply held beliefs through the oldest form of communication--stories. This book can be used as a resource on narrative theology for preachers, teachers, and storytellers. Narrative theology is about peeling back the known to discover the unknown. Rather than pronouncing facts, it gives an opportunity for an ""ah ha"" experience. In a sermon it allows the hearer to grasp an element of truth through fiction or personal story--Jesus's method. And narrative theology is about revealing the relationship between God and God's people. What better way to look at relationships than through stories? The book is written in two parts. Part 1 asks what is a sacred story and offers a number of possibilities. Part 2 is a workshop on acting, writing, and presentation skills aimed at those who are drawn to expressing themselves through stories. The stories here are from Sally's own life experiences--the monologues from her imagination. Each story is related to a theme and is humorous, poignant, and human. We the Storytellers will inspire and equip its readers to develop and perform their own sacred stories. "

Traditional Storytelling Today explores the diversity of contemporary storytelling traditions and provides a forum for in-depth discussion of interesting facets of comtemporary storytelling. Never before has such a wealth of information about storytelling traditions been gathered together. Storytelling is alive and well throughout the world as the approximately 100 articles by more than 90 authors make clear. Most of the essays average 2,000 words and discuss a typical storytelling event, give a brief sample text, and provide theory from the folklorist. A comprehensive index is provided. Bibliographies afford the reader easy access to additional resources.

Chinese storytelling has survived through more than a millennium into our own time, while similar oral arts have fallen into oblivion in the West. Under the main heading of 'The Eternal Storyteller', in August 1996 the Nordic Institute of Asian Studies hosted an International Workshop on Oral Literature in Modern China. To this meeting, the first of its kind in Europe, five special guests were invited - master tellers from Yangzhou: Wang Xizotang, Li Xintang, Fei Zhengliang, Dai Buzhang and Hui Zhaolong. The volume derived from this meeting includes an introductory article written by John Miles Foley entitled 'A Comparative View on Oral Traditions'. Thereafter, a wide range of topics relating to Chinese oral literature is covered under the headings: 'Historical Lines', 'A Spectrium of Genres', 'Studies of Yangzhou and Suzhou Story- telling' and 'Performances of Yangzhou Storytelling'. However, the present volume does more than include papers derived from the meeting. It is also lavishly illustrated in word and picture from performances by the guest-storytellers. In so doing, the world of Chinese story telling is not just described and analysed - it is also brought to life.

It is 1876 America. Ulysses S. Grant is completing his second term as president, the Civil War has been over for eleven years, and Sitting Bull’s Lakota have just defeated Custer’s seventh calvary. But now as rumors begin circulating about a mystical being that is stalking the moonlit skeletons on the battlefield, the US Army begins developing a plan to investigate. A year later, the army dispatches an expedition to return to the Little Bighorn to retrieve the remains of the officers and unearth the alleged mystery behind the rumors. Accompanying the soldiers is a thirty-one-year-old undercover private investigator tasked with interviewing any and all witnesses to Custer’s movements and the subsequent battle along the banks of the Little Bighorn. As DelCol searches for men to interview who he hopes will answer all his questions, he is led down a fascinating path into the history of one of the most famous battles of all time—and eventually to a destiny he never could have imagined. The Storytellers is the tale of a private investigator’s odyssey as he rides along with the US Army in 1877 to investigate the mysteries surrounding the battle of the Little Bighorn.

Trapped between life and the afterlife, three women meet and share their stories while discovering the truth about the men in their lives—and about themselves. Suspended in an eerie state of limbo, an entity called the Gatekeeper tells Nikki, Ronnie, and Mrs. Hawthorne they are on the cusp of entering the afterlife—but only if the women can persuade him that in their earthly lives, they knew the meaning of love. Fragments of their memories return, plunging them back into their pasts, and forcing them to face the desires, disappointments, addictions, lies, and obsessions they battled in life. But before time runs out, will they find the answer to the ultimate question: what is love? “Darkly funny and completely compelling, with brilliantly flawed characters you can’t help rooting for, even when they’re bad.” —Frances Quinn, author of The Smallest Man “Utterly mind blowing! If Stuart Turton had written Gone Girl it would look like this. Intelligent, compelling writing that is genre defining. Brilliant!” —Victoria Dowd, author of The Supper Club Murders “Gripping, thought-provoking and clever. I was hooked from the very first page.” —Nicola Gill, author of The Neighbours “Beautiful, edgy and the perfect debut. A tale crafted with heart, soul and sass.” —Keith A. Pearson, author of The ‘86 Fix

Collective sense making starts with individual stories. Stories influence how we construct our sense of self in relation to others and our social environment, especially within the world of work. The stories we tell ourselves at work, particularly during times of change, impact our relationships and the collaboration with those who are engaged in the same work activities. Stories that we take for granted as "common sense" may not resonate with others, leading to conflict and tensions. This book focuses on the development of collaborative practices at work, and in organisations, through Collaborative Storytelling: from sharing stories to exchanging experiences and building a common narrative collectively. This open access book will be of interest to practitioners and academics working in the fields of adult education, equity and inclusion, human resource management, practice-based studies, organisational studies, qualitative research methods, sensemaking, storytelling, and workplace identity.

In the dark months of the Far North, a group of women decide to meet regularly and tell stories about the times and people of their youth. Each story delivers universal truths about family unity, respect, grief, and overcoming challenges.

The authentic, storytelling process gives students the opportunity to include their heritage language and culture into the learning process at school. Often, students separate their heritage language and culture from the school culture. They do this in order to survive the complexity of living in dual worlds or perspectives (Belenky et al., 1986). When teachers integrate the heritage language, such as storytelling, into the authentic literacy processes, students find that their heritage language and culture has value. They discover that their teachers encourage the traditional storytelling of their own heritage stories in the classrooms among their classmates. This brings the dual perspective of living in two distinct worlds together. The culturally responsive teachers help to merge both the home and school culture together through authentic literacy. This book describes how culturally responsive teachers learn to navigate between the heritage languages of their students and the dominant language of their curriculum and instruction. They know to ask questions such as, “Who are the storytellers in your home and what stories do they tell you?” This form of questioning opens up the thinking process that shows literacy comes in more forms and processes than just a book. As culturally responsive teachers invite different forms of literacy to be shared in the classroom, they bring the authentic lives of storytellers into their classroom. The students can retell the stories that they were told by their storytellers. Through this storytelling process both the culturally responsive teachers and the students informs them about who they are, how they are connect with others, and how they interdependent on others. Students tell stories that inform them about who they are and how they are connected with others, so they will know that they are human. They can live in a world of possibilities where they are interconnected with literacy and interdependent with each other in order to be human. They are describing what Greene (1995) described as looking into each other’s eyes in order to encourage them to tell their stories about who they are and who they hope to be.

The Nordic Storyteller: Essays in Honour of Niels Ingwersen consists of a set of nineteen research essays plus an introduction, written by colleagues and admirers of Niels and Faith Ingwersen, leaders in the field of Scandinavian Studies in North America for some four decades. A first section of seven essays, entitled “Songs and Tales in Oral Tradition,” presents research in the area of folklore studies, including balladry, saints’ lives, incantations, healing, legendry, and personal experience narrative. Articles take up such issues as classification, thematics, cultural and historical change, and the effects of technology on daily life. A closely related second section, “From Oral Tradition to Literature” includes three essays which examine the adaptation of oral tradition to literary forms, focusing on the works of P. Chr. Asbjørnsen, Esias Tegnér, Elias Lönnrot, F. R. Kreutzwald, and the illustrations of Arthur Rackham—all figures important in the rise of folklore as a key interest of Romantic nationalism. A further set of nine essays grouped under the title “Tales in Literary Form” examine aspects of the writings of some of the greatest storytellers of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, including H. C. Andersen, Herman Bang, Henrik Ibsen, Jóhann Magnús Bjarnason, Charles Dickens, Thomas Mann, Isak Dinesen, Martin Andersen Nexø, Billy August, Hans Scherfig, Peter Høeg, Klaus Rifbjerg, Leif Panduro, and Kjartan Fløgstad. Articles address topics including autobiography, source criticism, symbolism, personal and national identities, and the representation of political ideals. Together the essays of this volume demonstrate the unflagging salience of narrative—of storytelling—in the personal lives and social experiences of Scandinavians and their neighbors, past and present.