Wow. After reading the first three chapters about Storytelling I have a new appreciation and understanding of why storytelling is an integral part of a librarian's job description. Storytelling allows us to express our personal beliefs and values to others (Greene & Negro 2010). Before the printing press, storytellers became the history keepers for their culture and it was a form of entertainment (Greene & Negro, 2010). Storytellers who were superior at this skill were promoted to master storytellers. Master storytellers had great power and owned their stories. Other storytellers had to get permission from the master storytellers before they could tell their stories. Master storytellers in Ireland were given special privileges. They were allowed to wear five colors whereas others could only wear up to four colors according to their social status (Greene & Negro, 2010).
The magical science of storytelling
David JP Phillips
In Africa, they had two types of storytellers. One was a “resident” storyteller and the other was a “traveling” storyteller (Greene & Negro, 2010). The “traveling” storyteller would travel from village to village telling stories. The “resident” storyteller was in charge of keeping the stories of his leaders told. During the Middle Ages, Western Europe held storytelling competitions and they still do today. In 1450, the Printing Press was invented and allowed for stories to be told worldwide (Greene & Negro, 2010). This is when storytelling was seen as entertainment. In 1903, a group of teachers formed a storyteller’s league (Greene & Negro, 2010). The purpose of this league was to support the stories of educators and community members who really value the art of storytelling and love to share it with children and others (Greene & Negro, 2010). Over 100 years later, the storytelling league is still active in several states and regions.
Throughout the reading this week, I noticed the textbook talked about storytellers from the past. One of those names stood out to me, Jerry Clower. I grew up on a farm and my dad used to listen to stories that Jerry Clower told. Every August, Jerry Clower would be the main event at our local Tobacco Festival in Lake City, SC. People would come from all over to hear him tell stories and even get his autograph. As a child, I never realized that he was considered a storyteller. My dad would listen to his cassette tapes that had hours and hours of stories. He would listen to them over and over again and laugh as if it was the first time, he heard them. Most of them I had memorized because he played them so much. My dad was/is a very simple man. He never physically went to a movie theater to watch a movie but he would sit at the table and listen to hours and hours of Jerry Clower tell the same story over and over. I guess he connected to those stories and it brought him entertainment by hearing them. They definitely put him in a good mood. My dad also is very limited in his reading ability so I guess listening to these stories helped. I kind of see storytelling as a modern type of audible book.
Storytelling is an art that requires a listening audience. When storytellers tell stories children can experience the entire story uninterrupted. This week I read several fables. Fables is part of the storytelling family because it teaches morals to children of all ages. As a teacher, fables are quick and to the point, stories that can be taught on many different grade levels. Fables can also be used to help assess a child’s emotional comprehension in judging how they relate to characters in fables. The epic tales of good versus evil get the baseline of good story telling. As a teacher of different grade levels, I appreciate the ability of a fable to translate across different age groups, social, emotional and economical gaps to reach a wide audience.
Below is the list of fables that I read this week.
References
Greene, E. & Negro, J.D. (2010). Storytelling: Art and technique. Libraries Unlimited.
Hello! First, I really appreciated your review of the history of storytelling and storytellers. I really loved getting to learn about the history of storytelling (or at least parts of it), I have no doubt that the history of storytelling is longer and more complicated than any of us could ever imagine. While our readings have talked about how storytelling is a part of human nature, really getting to learn and break down the history of storytelling really proved that to me, I guess it’s a live example of how stories do more than data when it comes to making someone believe something. It really touched my heart reading about your emotional connection to Jerry Clower, the fact you and your father are evidence of the power of his storytelling is genuinely incredible. Storytelling is so crucial for anyone and everyone regardless of age or background, and getting to read your post really reminded me of that. Thank you so much for what you posted and I look forward to reading more in the future!
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