Telling Tales in Philippi

Yesterday was a storytelling day, this time in Philippi, WV for their Arts series.

My program centered around stories and songs from England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Usually I present this topic with my storytelling friend Judi Tarowsky, but this time I was on my own, and the program was different too--geared to children instead of adults.

These stories and the folklore of the Celtic region can be a little above the heads of many children. I had to explain things we adults understand, like peddlers and gypsies. But the magic of the stories catches people of any age, and we explored boggarts and selkies and brownies, peat and Brigid's cross and the Welsh love spoon among other things. We started with a short little song that was easy to teach, but the trick with the song is that we sing it faster and faster until it just gets silly.

The flannelboard story and song of Aiken Drum was another hit--I made the flannel pieces years ago and it continues to be popular with every audience I use it with. We sang and put the pieces on his face as we went along.

The program ended with the song and circle dance Old King Glory. Instead of doing it in a circle, I did it by walking through the group and adding children to our chain as I walked--this worked better in the limited space we had to work with. When every child was holding hands in the chain, we walked through the library bookstacks, singing as we went, then came back to the original space and made a circle to end. Great fun!

Telling to children is an art in itself. My style is front porch. In this particular tight space, I sat down to be more on a level with the children so they wouldn't have to crane their necks. I interact with the children as if we are all sitting on my front porch, talking and having a good time. Yesterday one little girl decided to be my helper, and pulled her chair up beside me. Since the other children were okay with it, that's where she stayed. A baby got passed from mother to older brother and we all had to stop and talk to the baby for a minute; he was such a happy little guy. Another little boy was just not having a good day and his mother ended up taking him to another part of the library. These and other things might be called interruptions, but they're just a natural part of children being children.

My hope is that the children will remember enough of the stories to want to explore more, and that the parents that attended will also be intrigued and want to learn more about the culture that was, for most of them, the source of their heritage.

Next for storytelling for me is Appalachian stories for a tour group presentation at the Tamarack Arts Center in Beckley, WV tomorrow night. Today, I am going with a neighbor to help her sort through the estates of her grandparents and aunt.  I am sure I will hear many stories and memories as we work.

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.