Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on April 22nd, 2008 at 8PM ET when I spoke with Jan Andrews and Jennifer Cayley on The Power of Folktales in Children’s Lives on the Art of Storytelling with Children podcast.

Folktales bring us the wisdom of the ages. They have been honed and shaped over centuries. They are there for everyone, functioning on the one hand as entertainment and on the other through offering so many layers of meaning that they are accessible to all. Adults may proclaim that Jack and Ti-Jean, Cinderella and Red Riding Hood (and all those other lesser-known heroes and heroines of the stories we ought to be telling more often) are archetypes. Children simply recognize in these long-lived characters various aspects of their own being. Folktales become then one of the Continue Reading »

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on April 8th, 2008 at 8PM ET when I spoke with La’Ron Williams on supporting peace and social justice through storytelling interviewed on the Art of Storytelling with Children podcast.

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Press Play to hear this interview that was recorded as a conference call on 9/04/2007, Julie Mills Festival Organizer of the Northern Kentucky Storytelling Festival talked about building a successful storytelling festival at your library.

I think you will find that this interview can really help storytellers understand the librarians and libraries in their lives. If you are interested in storytelling at your local library this interview is must listen and if you are a librarian interested in having storytelling events in your library I would recommend listening as well.

Eric Wolf

—–More about the Guest…
Julie Mills began working as a Children’s Programmer at the Erlanger Branch of the Kenton County Public Library in August of 2001. Julie started with Preschool age children and in February of 2004, she began working as the Continue Reading »

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Interview with Carol Birch recorded on Tuesday, July 10rd, 2007.

“More opportunities equal more responsibilities” is a simple explanation of copyright. As a librarian, I can read or tell stories to children in the library or as part of a school visit. Fair use also permits me to tell stories in classrooms where I teach graduate students. Responsibilities change when I’m hired as a storyteller, then acting ethically means seeking permission. However, Catch 22’s abound.

Clearing performance rights is the first thing to do, when seriously considering a story penned by another. Unfortunately, the first thing publishers and agents ask for are the date(s) and time(s) a story is to be performed. And who knows?

For more information on this topic, listen to the podcast and read an article that will be published in UP FOR DISCUSSION in School Library Journal, August, 2007. We’ve got to work together to establish some precedents to which we can all refer when we contact publishers.

Carol Birch

Eric Wolf - “the documentary mentioned in the Podcast is called by Seinfiled and called Comedian”

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Post written by Jonatha Wright who was a Guest on the show on Tuesday April 17th at 7pm. Missed the call? Don’t worry - you can listen right now by clicking the play button.

Jonatha Wright writes…
Probably we are all aware of the cultural confusions and misconceptions that become evident daily in this world of instant updates. It has become the stuff of novels, movies and the nightly news. These errors in sensitivity can hurt feelings, and cause outright insults and rage in the offended.

*How can we avoid some of these mistakes?

As storytellers, we often aim high at bridging these cultural gaps with an appropriate and well-told story. This is a worthy goal and an attainable one. However, we must do Continue Reading »

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