Storytelling Review: Two CDs, One Storyteller--Mary Grace Ketner

If you're still struggling to find gifts for those hard-to-shop-for people on your list, consider this: give them two hours of spellbinding, haunting, hilarious, touching, and memorable listening with two CDs by storyteller Mary Grace Ketner. 

I know many storytellers. I hear many storytellers, and I listen to many storytelling CDs. But rarely do I come upon recordings that engage me as these two have. Teller Mary Grace Ketner hails from San Antonio, Texas, a region rich in history and legends, and she taps those stories as well the large vein of world folklore to create stories rich with color, character and depth. 

I first met Mary Grace online in a storytelling listserve in 1997 and then later that year at a storytelling conference in Kansas City, MO. Two things struck me about this tall Texas lady: her memorable voice and her lively sense of humor. Both come through in excellent form on her two CDs. The recordings include traditional and not-so-traditional folktales and stories, all well-told in Mary Grace's compelling style.

Ghostly Gals and Spirited Women: Tales Old and New of Women who Transgress, Transform, or Transfix--and Transcend! by Texas storyteller Mary Grace Ketner  c 2009

I love ghost stories so this collection was right on target for me. The tales are gathered from around the world, from Ketner's own beloved Southwest to China, Scandinavia and points between. Pretty Maid Ibronka sounds like a pretty little story but the malevolent force in the tale is anything but pretty--and yet who can stop listening as Ibronka seeks to be free of the dreadful acquaintance she made? The repetitive chant becomes more and more sinister as the story progresses and had the listener bending forward to listen intensely to this driving tale. La Llorona, a story from the Southwest US that has several variations, reminds us that promises may not always be kept, and the even death may not end the suffering of some poor souls.

Ketner does not leave us in dark places to dwell, however. The CD offers a ghostly riddle story from China as well as a love story and a humorous yet thoughtful personal story that explores Ketner's own journey of transformation.This is a well-balanced collection of stories attractively packaged and professionally performed by Mary Grace Ketner, a lady who knows how to transcend distance so that the listener feels her presence as the stories unfold.

1001 Years of 1001 Nights: Tales from Scheherazade retold by Mary Grace Ketner, c2011

It has been centuries since Scheherazade wove her magical tales to prevent the loss of her head. Yet these tales continue to captivate us with their mystery, humor and underlying messages. We meet Scheherazade as she makes her proposal that she tell a new story each night to the King in exchange for her life--if he enjoys the story, he will not behead her, allowing her to live yet one more day and weave yet one more tale. For 1001 nights Scheherazade spun her stories; Ketner includes the story of Scheherazade and one of her tales, Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves, on this recording along with two other classic tales from world folklore that have their roots in stories from the 1001 Nights.

Many people only know Ali Baba through the Disney version of the story, but of course there is so much more to it than that! Ketner unravels this long, intricate story layer by layer and we follow Ali Baba's fortunes and misfortunes through bloodshed, mischief, love and cleverness for almost forty minutes of this CD, and yet never does the tale become stale, confusing or boring. It's a spellbinder of the first order, filled with characters both lovable and laughable, clever and conniving.

The Peddler of Swaffham is both funny and poignant as a poor man follows his dream, to the derision of his neighbor. Ketner gives the tale what it needs: humor, pathos and celebration in a fine telling. She follows this with a romping rendition of one of my favorite American folktales, Old Dry Frye; I was surprised to read on her liner notes that this tale too has roots in one of Scheherazade's stories--a sign of the kind of attention to detail Ketner gives her research and her stories.

I listened to both CD's while on a road trip with my 13-year-old granddaughter Hannah. Hannah was as spellbound as I was; these CD's scored big time with her, and if a storyteller can win the praise of a teenager,  that's high praise indeed.

The CDs are $12.95 each and can be ordered through Ketner's website, or through CDBaby.

Ghost Stories!

Last night was ghost stories night in Sistersville, West Virginia. And what a night it was.

I'd been working on a program to bring to Sistersville as part of the Stories at the River's Edge project. My original plan was to have four tellers in different locations in the town, each telling a ghost story about the area and perhaps another story or two. People could walk from teller to teller to hear the tales, and would end up at the Wells Inn for refreshments and a last story about the hauntings in the Inn.

That plan did not work out. Why? I simply could not find storytellers available! And it turned out for the best anyway as the Wells Inn was booked for a wedding on the same weekend and would have been unavailable to us. I am still planning to do such an event--maybe next year?

Plan B was to have two storytellers to tell ghost stories at the Sistersville Library. A lot simpler to plan! And as it turned out, a very good plan indeed. Storyteller Jason Burns of Morgantown joined me at the library to tell ghost stories from all around West Virginia, with a focus on Tyler County (where Sistersville is located). Jason maintains the website West Virginia Spectral Heritage and has as wealth of knowledge and stories to share (even if he is a young whippersnapper, he knows his stuff!).

Librarian Heather Weekley planned some creepy refreshments like Witch's Fingers and such, and her husband decorated the library. And not simple jack-o-lantern decorations, either. Greg must have a huge personal collection because the library was completely spooky--zombie babies, talking portraits, creepy scarecrows, smoke, strange lights--you name it, he had it. The library looked spectacular--or rather, spooktacular. Granddaughter Grace came with me and took pictures. She's a great roadie to have along.

Jason and I decided to tell our stories in round-robin style-he'd tell one, and I'd follow with another, and so on. This worked very well as we swapped stories back and forth for 90 minutes. And you know, we'd only scratched the surface of the stories we could have told! An audience of about 40 or more people came to listen, mostly adults with 3 young boys and a few teenagers. It was a perfect group for the stories we told.

Sistersville has a colorful history and many stories attached to it. An oil and gas boom town in the early 1900's, the town had its share of violent deaths, drownings in the Ohio River, unexplained events (like a UFO in the early 1900's) and more. It also had more than its share of millionaires as people gained almost instant wealth if a well struck a good vein. Almost 100 oil companies once listed Sistersville as their home location, and at one time the shantyboats of workers were so thick along the shore that you could have walked a mile along the river without ever touch land or water. It's a fascinating place.

And a perfect place for storytelling.

Full, Full Days

Stories, stories, stories. I am wallowing in a richness of stories.

The past two days I was at Jackson's Mill, WV, telling stories to busloads of school children from area elementary schools. I do not have words to describe how it feels to see their eyes intently following the stories, their laughter, their smiles and sighs. And not just the children, but the teachers and bus drivers too.

Storytellers Adam Booth, Ilene Evans, Marc Harshman and I filled the days with stories. Tales of Jack, of Mutsmag, of Tam Lin and more floated on the fall air like the falling leaves of the trees, and were just as full of rich color.

Adam is a young teller, relatively speaking. In this profession many sport gray hair. Adam is not even 30 years old but is one of the fast-rising young stars in storytelling circles. A professor of musicology, he somehow finds time in his schedule to spin some of the best stories I've ever heard. I love to work with him because he is flexible, open to the audience and so joyful in his work.

Ilene Evans has been telling stories for a long time. I was delighted to hear her tell her bilingual story La Hormiguita, the very first story I ever heard from her, this week. Multi-lingual and multi-racial, Ilene is a founder of Voices from the Earth; her current big project is a Civil War saga of an experimental settlement of former slaves during and after the war that set out to prove that blacks could learn quickly and could support themselves and bear arms for their country. It's a huge undertaking and totally fascinating.

Marc Harshman is a children's author with about a dozen titles to his credit. His story called Rocks in My Pockets is one of the finest examples of the mountaineer spirit you are likely to encounter. My favorite book by Marc is called Uncle James, and explores the relationship of a small boy with his alcoholic uncle. It's not for everyone, but I believe it's a necessary, and poignant, story. Marc is a stellar storyteller; his rendition of Mutsmag, the mountain girl who outwits child-eating giants, had the children mesmerized.

And then there was me. Since Adam and Marc did such a great job covering Appalachian tales, I decided to tell some folktales from other world cultures. I started with an Arabic welcome song, done as an echo song so the children sang back each line to me. Then I told a Nazarene story from the mid-East. Nasruddin is a "wise fool" which means he's nobody's fool. I moved on to a song from the Tamil region of India and then to a story from India about how the peacock came to be. From there I told a story from China about how the peacock and the crow got their colors, then went to Scotland to tell the story of Tam Lin in song and narrative--this is a story of a young man bewitched by the fairy queen and how a girl helps him escape the thrall of the queen. It is hands down one of my favorite tales. I ended by bringing the children back home to West Virginia by having them visualize their favorite place in our state, then closing their eyes and imagining that place as I sang a verse from Hazel Dickens' song, West Virginia, My Home.

Ah, what a time it was. Now I am home, catching up on email and Facebook and eBay, and getting ready to leave again tomorrow to do a day of Appalachian stories for a school not too far away. What a life.I love it.

Stories, Life and Loss

It has been a roller coaster day. Here's a quick look at how it was:

Today's storytelling in Athens and Pomeroy, Ohio was a great experience. This year's summer reading theme selected by libraries has been so much fun--One World, Many Stories has so many possibilities that a storyteller is almost overwhelmed by the choices. I put together a program of highly participatory stories so that children (and adults) in the audience could be part of the telling. It has been a wild trip with many funny moments, surprising performances and new insights into the stories as they have unfolded in each venue.

I am often surprised by the abilities of those who help me tell the stories. Today, for example, a small Japanese girl who could not have been more that 3 or 4 years old performed spectacularly in the Mexican story "La Hormiguita," (you can hear a musical version of this folktale here) saying her part clearly and loudly. Often such young children are shy about taking part in a story, but this little one was perfect for her part. All of the children at both libraries were lively participants and we had a lot of blast with stories from Africa, Japan, China, and Chile too. As always, I brought a display of items from around the world, collected over the years because I just like such things. :) 

Another fun part of today's programs was my friend and storyteller Donna Wilson, who took on the part of the "Knee High Man" (read a short version of this traditional southern USA story here) and did an outstanding job of making that story come to life. And other adults helped by joining in on the participation lines and songs and by taking rhythm instruments for the final song of the program. It was a magical day, with stories creating communities from groups of strangers--just as stories always do.

On my way home, I stopped into a Goodwill store just to see, you know, what they might have. I came out with dishes marked Habsburg, Austria, some Depression-era serving dishes, some German plates, Imperial glass salt and peppers, a handmade egg basket and several other great finds--many of which will end up on eBay sometime in the future. Best find? I think it might be a matted and framed print of the children's classic story "Rainbow Fish" which is going into the Christmas gift basket for a certain children's librarian friend. You never know what might be found at Goodwill.

The sad notes for the day: a storytelling friend was struck by a car yesterday and remains in the hospital with a fractured skull; another storytelling friend remains in the hospital following a stroke two weeks ago; and my good neighbor and country-living mentor Belva Simons passed away today as I was driving to the nursing home to visit her. In the midst of life there is pain, struggle, and death. And yet we soldier on, taking joy where we can find it, even if it is only in a story shared with children. I send prayers for my friends and their families on this July night, and I wish you all comfort, peace and the love of your family to help you through such vales of sadness.

Storytellers Retreat: Post 1

This weekend was the first WV Storytelling Guild Storytellers Retreat. I admit, it was my brainchild and I was apprehensive as to how it would go. My idea was that a few storytellers would get together to work intensively on a story each teller would bring with them. By working in a small group and spending a good chunk of time listening and sharing our insights on each other's stories, I hoped that we would all leave with stories that benefited from the input of other tellers.

I was surprised at the enthusiastic reception my idea received from guild members. We have not had an opportunity to get together for some time and we were all hungry to reconnect. The beginning of March was a good time, and the Wells Inn in Sistersville offered us a good rate. The ducks were marching in a row, it seemed, and all the stars conspiring to make this idea work.

Friday evening about 15 of us arrived at the hotel, ready for our weekend adventure. The Inn provided dinner. I was astounded at the size of the portions and the excellent flavorings in each dish. We learned that the Inn had hired a chef and his skill was apparent in the offerings on the table. We stayed after dinner to talk, plan our work for the next day, and to have our first story swap. With some new members in the group, the evening provided an icebreaker and a chance to get to know everyone.

Saturday morning started out with another amazing meal. If you ordered the full English breakfast, you got bacon, sausage, AND ham, along with three eggs, toast, home fries, etc. Coffee flowed endlessly and the waitress was cheery and efficient. Since rain was predicted for the afternoon we decided to take a little time first to explore the town.

I have been to Sistersville many times over the past 10 years. It's sort of a home away from home for me; I suppose it is the small-town feel, the fine architecture, the Ohio River flowing by, and the sense of history that draws me. For most of our group, however, this was a first trip. We meandered downtown, then to the river and the old oil well exhibit.

Sistersville's oil and gas history is legendary in our state--at the height of the boom the population swelled from 200 to over 20,000 in a few months, and the houseboats at the moorings on the river were so thick that you could walk 20 miles on them and never touch ground. I love the numerous cupolas, neat architectural details, iron fences and the many examples of fine stained glass in the town's buildings, and took many photos of them which you will see in the coming days. And still, I only touched the tip of what is there to see.

After our morning tour we got to work. We divided into 3 groups, and each group had its own place to work. One group stayed in the conference room at the Wells Inn; a second group went down to the basement bar (still closed pending licensing) called the Wooden Derrick, and the third went across the street to the Gaslight Theater. In my group, each person was given 30 minutes to tell us about their story, tell as much of it as they wanted, and then the group provided feedback in the form of praise and suggestions. The process worked fairly well; the biggest problem I saw was that group members often wanted to talk about their own experiences instead of focusing on the story at hand--understandable for this first effort at this process.

Then it was lunch time. Once again the ample and delicious meal provided the backdrop for lively conversations and a chance to deepen our relationships. After lunch, the groups re-formed, with members shifting so that the afternoon groups provided new "ears" to hear the stories and provide feedback. I brought the story of my parents' meeting and marriage to work on, and by the time the afternoon session was over, I had some important new ideas that I will use to make this a strong story that I believe will become one of my very best.

Dinner found me still full from lunch! I knew that bread pudding was available as a dessert so I opted for a small salad and dessert for dinner. It was a wise decision because even then I could eat only half of my dessert. After dinner we moved to the parlor area that is still under construction and had another evening of swapping stories, singing and talking.

 About 11pm I snuck outside and took photos of some of the stained glass windows while they were lighted up. The rain was falling in a soft drizzle but the air was still fairly warm and the night walk invigorated me. We stayed up talking until around midnight, then I fell into bed and slept soundly until morning, not even hearing the night train that comes through town each evening, or the river barges that frequently pass on the Ohio River just a block or two from the hotel.

This morning we met again for breakfast and a reluctant farewell. The rain had turned to snow overnight, and as we drove away the lawns were being coated with a soft white blanket.

We were the first group the Wells Inn has hosted since re-opening for business on a limited scale last month. While the ongoing renovations are certainly visible, for us they added to the adventure of the weekend. Owner Charles Winslow gave us a tour of the work in progress and of the Gaslight Theater, and workers were more than happy to tell us anything we wanted to know.



(BTW, I don't think the Wells Inn has a webpage yet, but you can call them at 304-652-1312, or friend them on Facebook to keep up with renovations, etc).

Book Review: Author Donna Ingham's Tales from Texas

Donna Ingham is a woman of many hats. A retired college professor, Ingham has a Ph.D. in English, a few “Biggest Liar” awards and is a professional storyteller, folklorist and author. Her fascination with the stories and lore of Texas led her to researching and publishing collections of her stories in two titles, Tales with a Texas Twist: Original Stories and Enduring Folklore from the Lone Star State in 2005 and Mysteries and Legends of Texas: True Stories of the Unsolved and Unexplained in 2010. Ingham’s storytelling background provides a strong voice for the telling of these tales, and her informal conversational style is just right for the retelling of legends and tales; after all most of these stories started out as oral tradition, and Ingham honors that history with a master storyteller’s imagery and language.

You don’t need to be from Texas to be pulled into these stories. In Tales with a Texas Twist, Ingham includes some Greek myths that many high school and college students are familiar with and have probably struggled with. In Ingham’s versions, however, these god-filled myths come down-home. Cupid, for example, becomes a Mama’s boy, and Persephone is actually Cora Persephone, which is what her mama calls her when the girl is needed pronto. Using imagery and language that is right-now and understandable to today’s generation, Ingham brings life and immediacy to the old myths. Twist includes the familiar legend of the Texas Bluebonnet, Br’er Rabbit tales and an original telling of the haunting Mr. Fox, along with some eerie ghost tales and comic tall tales, and introduces a few heroes and heroines native to Texas but probably unknown to those from outside of the state. Civil War tales and even a story about a survivor of the deadly Battle of the Alamo provide a satisfying variety, all told in Ingham’s lively storytelling voice.

Mysteries and Legends digs deeper into Texas’ unique and fascinating history. Ingham made a conscious effort to include all areas of this big state. From the panhandle to the Rio Grande and all points east, west and central. Lost mines and lost pirate treasure, legendary animals and inexplicable creatures, ghosts, strange lights, and more fill the pages, along with a few illustrations. While some of the stories in Twist were known to me at least in some way, those in Mysteries and Legends were unfamiliar and completely riveting. Ingham’s depth of research is apparent in the extensive bibliography, and an index provides quick reference to names, places and events in the tales.

Regional collections often hold interest only for those native to or with an interest in the region, but Twist and Mysteries and Legends provide entertaining and educational reading for all audiences. Sometimes haunting or hilarious, at other times touching or suspenseful, both books provide a satisfying, engaging reading experience.

Ingham has published two other books about Texas, You Know You're in Texas When... and 1001 Greatest Things Ever Said About Texas.She is currently at work on a CD that will include some of the tales in Twist, and an upcoming book. 

A CD entitled Texas Family Album is available on her website. All of her publications are available on her website at Donnaingham.com  and at Amazon.com . 

 (Donna frequently appears at storytelling festivals and other events both in Texas and in other states. I've had the pleasure of hearing her telling some of her tall tales and guarantee that if you ever have the opportunity to hear her, it will be an experience you will remember. She's one good teller, and that is no lie. Look for her at such events as the Tejas Storytelling Festival and the GeorgeWest StoryFest, among others.) 

Home Again! Kentucky Storytelling Conference

We're home from our trip to the Kentucky Storytelling Conference. Any of you who blog or do Facebook know how it is to have close online friends that you have never met face to face. I've been a member of the Kentucky Storytelling Association for a couple years. I join the storytelling organizations in neighboring states because I want to support their work, and in the process I meet many good people.

I'd emailed or facebooked (is that a word?) with many members of the Kentucky group, but had met only a few of them in person, so I was looking forward to this trip. I had submitted a workshop on ballads that was accepted for the conference so I packed up my books, CDs, notes and Larry and we took off Friday morning.

Oddly I took few photos on this trip. I suppose it was because I was focused on my workshop, and the drive was a long one--about 8 hours--so there was not time to dillydally along the way as I like to do. We got on the interstates and pretty well stayed there.

The place was stayed was stunning. The Kentucky Dam Village Inn and Conference Center were in the part of Kentucky known as the Land Between the Lakes; huge TVA dams and lakes form a wonderland for water sport enthusiasts. Larry planned to do some exploring while I was at the conference, but unfortunately a rainy drizzly day changed his plans--so he stayed indoors mostly, and enjoyed that rare treat, a television!

I was intrigued by several aspects of this conference. First, the KSA has partnered with an organization that serves the deaf and hard of hearing, and a number of interpreters from that organization attended the conference. They provided signing for the workshops and storytelling sessions. If you have never seen an interpreter working with a storyteller, I can tell you it is a wonderful experience. Interpreters use facial expression and body language along with the sign language to interpret the stories, so they add wonderfully to the experience for both hearing and non-hearing listeners.

KSA also works with young tellers to develop new talent. These "torchbearers" can then advance to compete at the national level and perform at the National Storytelling Festival. Several young tellers attended the conference and a past winner who is now in college is a new board member for KSA. The inclusion of young tellers in the organization is important to the future of storytelling, and Kentucky is doing an excellent job of supporting and mentoring emerging talent.

In all organizations like this, volunteers provide the backbone that builds success. I met many people of all experience levels offering their services to help their organization grow and remain strong. The sense of "we're all in this together" was strong, and at the same time, there was none of the stress level I've noticed in other volunteer organizations. Maybe they just hide it well, but I don't think that is the case. The group worked well together, took responsibility and seemed committed to making the conference run smoothly. Great work by a great team.

Another interesting approach was how the storytelling sessions were handled. Often a few "featured" performers present a concert or two but in Kentucky there were multiple open mic sessions. Three hats were placed on the stage and a person could put their name in the hat that best described their experience level: tell a little, tell often, or tell a lot. This allowed the less experienced equal time and equal appreciation for their efforts. Names could only be submitted once during the conference, so everyone who wanted to had a good chance to perform.

There was one featured performer, Octavia Sexton. Her Appalachian heritage was evident in her tales that were flavored with a uniquely Kentucky seasoning and a healthy dose of strong Appalachian woman too. Olivia is best known, I learned, for her telling of Jack tales, those trickster stories that traveled to our mountains with early settlers from the British Isles. Octavia's humor and sense of timing made for a highly entertaining presentation. She's a master of her genre.


Brother Wolf of Ohio was at the conference as a presenter too. Brother Wolf produces the podcast series "The Art of Storytelling" along with other ventures. He has recorded almost 100 storytellers from across the US for his broadcasts, and was recently recognized for his work with a National Oracle Award for Service to Storytelling by the National Storytelling Network, which is a prestigious award in storytelling circles. He made use of his time in Kentucky to record an interview with Octavia on the topic of Jack tales, and also recorded an interview with me on Appalachian ballads. I am not sure when the interview will air, but will be sure to post a link to it here when it is available.

The drive home was for some reason easier than the drive down and we came back to a wonderfully warm house--we're still getting used to heat that stays on even when we're not here. Small blessings sometimes are the ones we appreciate most, aren't they?

Home Again

My poor exhausted husband is sleeping on the couch. The car is unloaded, the suitcase unpacked, all the storytelling paraphernalia has been dragged in although it's not yet put away. The turkeys are thankful to be out in their lot after three days of being copped up in their building and the cats are happy to have milk again. It is good to be home.

Hello Pittsburgh!

We've been gone since Thursday evening to the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival in Pittsburgh, PA. I was one of three featured tellers--Tim Tingle and Kate Danaher were the other two. Along with storytelling, I also taught a workshop on ballads and ballad singing.

I cannot begin to describe the festival experience--but of course I'm going to try!

Kate Danaher, Tim Tingle, me

The first day started with stories for children, and I shared the stage with featured teller Kate Danaher and local tellers Edmund LoPresti and Mike Perry Pittsburgh for a two-hour set. Then it was time for a lunch program for seniors with Kate. We decided that rather than me telling for 30 minutes and Kate taking the stage, we would do a give-and-take program: one of us would start, and then the other take up with a story that spun from what the first teller had told. It was magical. It kept us thinking and making connections in our material, even though we had never met before that morning, and had never heard each other tell. The performance was lively, to say the least, with Irish stories and songs mingling with my Appalachian ballads and stories.

Soon after that I presented a two-hour workshop on ballads to a small but engaging group. We talked, discussed the ballads and their sources, the ballad tradition and the songcatchers and much more. I had handouts for the attendees so that could continue to learn on their own.

Then it was dinnertime--the day passed so quickly it was surprising to find that it was time to eat. After dinner Kate, Tim and I took the stage again, and later in the evening we participated in the ghost stories concert with Pittsburgh tellers Sean Miller and Scott Pavelle. Back at the hotel we were amazed at the huge number of people gathered at the hotel for a family reunion. They told us that over 300 people had come from all across the United States. And I thought our Connelly family reunion was big with our 120 folks!

Saturday morning I was onstage again at 11am so we could have a later start. This time I chose to tell tall tales to an audience that included a good many children. Larry and I slipped out for lunch afterwards, then came back so that I could participate in a story swap to fill a session time left vacant by the unfortunate illness of a scheduled teller. I was on again at 3pm, telling Jack tales this time, along with Wizard Clipp, one of West Virginia's strangest supernatural tales. And ballads of course. I include songs in almost every program now because I like the added dimension that song gives to stories.

The final concert followed dinner. Kate was hilariously funny, telling a story about someone using ball bearings instead of nonpareils to decorate a wedding cake with disastrous intestinal results for those who ate the cake, along with other comical tales from the collection of stories by Eamon Kelly, who had been one of Ireland's most famous storytellers. On Eamon's death, his widow entrusted his stories to Kate, entreating her to tell them. Kate has honored that request, not only telling the stories, but studying Eamon's voice closely to match every nuance of accent.

I followed Kate with two stories that are not part of my usual repertoire. I started with my favorite ballad, the first one I ever learned--Pretty Saro. The first story I told was Gracie's Cabin, which I wrote several years ago time ago and used to tell fairly often. For some reason I quit telling it; I don't know why really, but sometimes a teller will do that, just let a story rest. Gracie's Cabin came back stronger than ever, with some changes I had been mulling over that I think improved the story's ending.

I followed that story with the story of my parents--how they met, their early  married life and struggles, and the quest by my sisters and me to find Mom's infamous fruitcake recipe after we lost her in 2005. I have been thinking about this story and how to present it, what connections I could build and how to find the "thing" that the story was about. Simply stringing together anecdotes isn't enough--there must be depth and some place of common understanding and experience with the audience to make a true and memorable story.

Then Tim Tingle took the stage and oh.my.goodness. His story was tense, funny, dark, witty, musical, sad, touching, and I will never forget the experience of seeing and hearing Tim tell it. It was the story of a man who had committed murder and spent many years in Alcatraz, but the story was not about the murder or his prison time. It was the story of someone of Tim's own Choctaw heritage, a boy who grew up hard in a hard time for Indians, who learned young to take what he wanted through violence, a boy who made bad choices and hurt both himself and many others by his decisions. It was hard to listen to and yet...I will carry that tale and that man in my heart. Sometimes the difficult stories are the ones that most need to be told and heard, aren't they? Tim's message--don't judge by what you see, look for the goodness in a person's heart--is one we all need to carry with us.

It was time to go. We lingered, talking, hugging, saying goodbye to new friends in the audience, and finally packing up our items that we'd brought to sell. It was time to go. Once again, a community brought together by stories dispersed to carry the stories home with them, and the storytellers went home to rest and remember the circle of faces that listened to our voices and gave us their trust. What goodness there is in the human heart.

Bye, Pittsburgh!

Blarney!

Yvonne Healy is a cultural crossover. Born in Ireland but emigrated to the US with her parents as a young child, she has a foot--and a heart--in both countries. Her new CD, Blarney, weaves her memories of the people and places of both countries into a seamless journey of truth, imaginings, and mythological adventures.

As a cultural blend of England and America myself, I understand the pull of the old traditions and heritage. I was born and raised in the US, but my English mother made certain that we were well grounded in English traditions. Healy's parents, the first on either her mother or father's side to leave the old country, made a new home in America and their young daughter immersed herself in American culture. She forgot the Irish language she once knew, but then she grew up and Ireland called to her in stories.

Listening to Blarney! is like sitting in a pub and hearing story after story, interspersed with a little music. What is true and what is not? The listener must decide. Did her grandfather really come to America once? Was her grandmother truly so outrageous? The people Healy describes come alive--comic, tragic and all-too-human. Her unique voice lends authenticity to folktales of heroes and magic. Healy moves effortlessly from story to story, voice to voice, comic to heroic to touching, taking us on her journey to places she knows well--the Ireland of folklore and the Ireland of her heritage..

Blarney! is filled with stories you will want to listen to again and again. And that's no blarney.

This CD is available on Healy's website, and on CDBaby as a downloadable MP3.

The Athens Storytelling Festival

What a good time! Storytelling by some of the best tellers in the country, music by one of my favorite folk musicians, attentive audiences and a welcoming, supportive community. What's not to like?

The festival is set up in the middle of the downtown district. One of the streets around the courthouse square was closed, and a huge circus-type tent erected on the street.

The Storytelling Store and Headquarters for the festival was located in the Boys and girls Club on the same block, allowing attendees to easily get their tickets and shop for books and CDs. The whole festival is a compact, well-organized event. Merchants support it with advertising and promotions; the mayor, state representatives, police and other agencies offered financial and logistics support.

Even Sponge Bob was there to support storytelling (actually, I think he was a Halloween decoration, but who's to say?)

Best of all, the community came out in large numbers to attend the sessions. Even this one, early Saturday morning when it was pretty cold and damp, had a good crowd. On the stage is Bil Lepp, West Virginia's best liar. Bil draws large crowds wherever he goes, and Athens was no exception.

Not all of the audience was local, though--some came from as far away as California. That speaks to the growing reputation of this festival. Its easy access, friendly town, and informal atmosphere all go a long way to making people feel comfortable and welcome.

I have no photos of me on stage, or even with the headline tellers! Larry was busy listening and so was I. But I did get one photo of me with the person who made my time in Athens smooth and problem-free. Nanci is a school media specialist and her care and attention to my needs was something special. All of those involved with the festival were the same, going out of their way to make things as easy as possible for the storytellers.

And....

they sent us home with a gift bag of mementos of Athens, including a signed, numbered and framed print of an original artwork depicting the downtown area. Not to mention an inscribed Case pocket knife, honey, soap, goat cheese, and more.

I don't have any photos of the ghost stories evening, either! It rained by the buckets, the wind whipped, and the camera and umbrella were in the car. So, no photos. But the audience stayed on to listen to the tales until 11:30 pm, and perhaps the weather only added to the atmosphere for ghostly tales. My West Virginia ghost stories seemed to be the kind they were looking for--some were a little gory, all were based on a reportedly true occurrence, and all were spooky enough to send people out with a little shiver that wasn't due to the cold rain. I added a couple ballads to spice it up and many people commented on how much they enjoyed them.

We came home Saturday afternoon, driving across Tennessee and Kentucky as the day turned to night and a full moon shone through drifting clouds, a perfect Halloween night. If the spirits were afoot, I did not see them. Perhaps I was just too tired, or perhaps it was because we were talking all the way home about the festival, the stories we'd heard and the people we'd met.

West Virginia Storytelling Festival

My internet has been having all kinds of issues lately, so posting is not so easy as it once once. Tonight, I won't be able to post any of the photos from the festival. Which is a shame since there were some good ones. Ah well. Rural life has its challenges and when we moved here there was no such thing as internet anyway. Who knew it would ever be an issue?

BUT the festival was a ton of fun. Last year the economy forced the festival to be discontinued. This year it came back on a much smaller scale. For the people at Jackson's Mill who plan and put it on, it's a better arrangement. For the storytellers, the festival was well planned and well run. I didn't have to worry about anything except telling my stories. That is awesome.

We had about 900 students over two days. Each day the schools were divided between two buildings, with two storytellers assigned to each building. We told for 30 minutes each, with a ten-minute built-in break. Then it was lunch time. The teachers led their students out onto the grounds for lunch. It was so restful to see children under trees or out on the huge lawns eating together. There was enough time for them to run and play too, which they did with great energy. Then the tellers swapped buildings and repeated the morning schedule. The students remained at the same building all day so they heard all four tellers before they left.

In past years sometimes there would be 1500 students in a day, and I can remember telling to about 1000 at one time in the barn. We would have 10-12 storytellers rotating between buildings and the children rotated too so it was a complex schedule. This simplified version allowed for fewer staff to be involved so costs were kept down.

My telling partner for the two days was Adam Booth, a young (to me anyway!) storyteller from Shepherdstown, West Virginia. Adam brought his unique background as the son of a Jewish mother and Christian father to his stories, and had the kids rolling with laughter at the problems he encountered. Since many children in West Virginia have never met someone from the Jewish tradition, his stories allowed them to learn a few basics about Judaism--such as what a rabbi is, and about not eating bacon and cheese on meat--while being highly entertained by stories of his escapades in Huntington, WV. Adam also told a traditional folktale, a version of the Three Wishes.

I decided to give a new story a try. This isn't a totally new story--some of you may remember reading the story of Idy Mae's Full Moon on this blog a while back. I also told a story about Larry's pet crow once or twice, but neither of these stories seemed to me to have "enough." Enough what? That's hard to answer; enough depth, perhaps? The one was funny, the other interesting, but there was nothing an audience member might feel connected to and remember afterwards. They both needed more of what it is that makes a good story a great story.

What I did was combine the two. I started with a description of the coal camp where my husband grew up, then moved to the coal mining items I had with me and explained what they were. From there to Larry's dad and how they got Jimmy the Crow. And from there to building a new outhouse and so one. The two stories wove together beautifully to create one very good tale. I had to take out some things and added others. In the end I had a story that will become a standard part of my repertoire.

So I came home a happy woman. Adam was a great teller to work with, professional, funny, flexible and dependable. Dave Parker, the festival organizer, and his staff looked after us very well. I think the festival has new, stronger legs and will continue to grow. All of this makes me one happy woman.

The West Virginia Book Festival: The End

The Book Festival is over for another year and I am kind of sad to see it end. It is a cray time for for me as I try to wear two hats all weekend: first hat is as a library staffer who has responsibilities for the giant used book sale, the second is the storyteller hat I wear when working in the storytelling guild's booth and performing at our festival events. It was easier for me this year because another teller took over responsibility for organizing tellers for the festival; all I had to do was be there for my telling time and work a while in the booth.

For guild members, the Book Festival is a time for us to get together to tell stories, meet listeners and talk to each other. Facetime is a rare opportunity for us, although we are finding more opportunities to be together as we add guild events to our annual calendar.

Storytellers: Donna Wilson, Suzi Whaples, Otto Ross, Paige Tighe, me, Bill Hairston, Keith Maynard and Katie Ross. This picture was taken on Sunday morning, so a few tellers had already left to head home. Notice that I brought my rocker from the porch with me? I planned to be comfortable when I had time to sit a while. It was apopular spot when I wasn't in it, too.

The used book sale is always a big deal for me. I like to help set it up on Friday, especially the Collector's Corner. That's also where I do most of my shopping, because there are so many books that relate to my interests in folklore, stories, and history.

Visitors to our booth browsed my materials but often seemed to be more interested in the free candy, like this lady. I did sell several copies of my new CD and met many interesting people throughout the weekend.

Across the aisle from our booth, WV Writers had an active booth too. I like having them as neighbors because I'm in both groups and writers are just good people to hang out with. It was encouraging to see such strong interest in the writers guild. Our booth stayed steadily busy all weekend. although sales were not as strong as in the past, I did make several good contacts for future performances, and the storytelling guild gained two new members.

Today I'm tired but not exhausted and a little sad to see the time with my storytelling friends be over, at least for now. Some of us will be together again in November at the WVU Mountaineer Week storytelling concert, so I'm looking ahead to that.

National Storytelling Festival: Storytelling and Friends

The Eureka Inn in downtown Jonesborough is the place I wish I could stay--right in the middle of the action. But it's booked for years in advance.

I wrote a long post last night about the National Storytelling Festival last night, only to have it vanish into thin air. The joys of Blogger. So here is the condensed version:

The National Storytelling Festival was held this past week in historic Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Although the festival begins earlier in the week, this year I could only be there for part of saturday and all day Sunday. I was determined to make the most of my time and at the end, I felt full of stories, friendship and new ideas.

My first festival stop was the National Storytelling Network tent; I'd volunteered to work a couple hours on Saturday because I knew we'd get to Jonesborough late and I did not want to pay $100 to see one or two sets; call me cheap, but ya know...

Working the tent I met people, saw friends, re-learned why the organization is important to me, and just enjoyed myself. Lorna Czarnota stopped by and during a slow time we swapped ballads. When my work time was up, we moved to the ISC steps and continued singing. We met Baba the Storyteller and Eric Wolf there; Baba sang a song from Africa for us. They left, and Adam Booth (a wonderful young WV storyteller) joined us. Adam knew a few ballads so we continued singing and talking and laughing.

With storyteller Lorna Czarnota. I enjoyed her original songs, written in the ballad tradition.

After Lorna left for home I drifted around J'boro for a while, stopped in at a coffee shop and listened to a guy called Lightnin' Charlie play guitar and sing for an audience of locals. He was a fine performer, funny, a great singer and they all knew him well enough to ask how his wife was doing (baby expected in 5 weeks). Lightnin' Charlie said he's selling his limo, so if you're in the market, there ya go! He said if you saw a limo at the Wal-Mart, you knew Lightnin' Charlie was there. What an image.

No, I wasn't feeling that fuzzy, but my camera sure was. I don't like this little Nikon--it can be so good and so bad and I never know which it will be at any given time.

Later Saturday night I found Karen Chace coming up the hill to start the Storytell get-together. Storytell is on online discussion list for storytellers, and during the 12+ years I've been a member I have made many longlasting friendships among its members. We get together at conferences and festivals, and whenever an opportunity presents itself. Now yall, that party was a hoot! I met new people, old friends and the talk was just a delight. Several were Facebook friends I'd never met. Too much fun.

Karen taking a picture as I took a picture of her.

Two weary storytellers trudge through the evening mist toward the car for the journey to the motel about 5 miles away.

Around midnight I met my tripmates and we drove to our hotel, completely tired and happy.

Note to self--never share a room with two other over-50 ladies again! Everyone was up and down all night for all sorts of reasons, not the least of which was the commode overflowing at 3am. One of the rules set by one of the ladies was: no men in the room. Ha! She was glad to see the maintenance MAN at 3am :-) Little sleeping went on, but a whole lot of laughing sure did.

Sunday morning (after the tempestuous and pretty much sleepless Night of the O'erflowing Commode) we were back in town early for the NSN membership meeting and national awards ceremony. My friend Bob McWhorter, who started the WV storytelling festival and drew most of us state storytellers out of the woodwork, received the Mid-Atlantic Oracle Award for his service to storytelling.

Bob, Jane Crouse of Virginia and our regional liaison, and a lady whose name I can't recall

I spent the day listening to as many tellers as possible. Sunday's stories are loosely categorized as "sacred" stories, and the tellers interpreted that term in many different ways.

My favorite?--so hard to pick one. Niall De Burca from Ireland was probably top of my list. He was exciting, energetic, engaging and thank goodness told a folktale or two. (Folktales, at least in the tents where I was listening, seemed to be a scarce commodity).

Regi Carpenter from New York state told masterfully about her childhood on the St. Lawrence River and sang beautifully. Kathryn Windham at 91 years old held us spellbound and received standing ovations and brought tears to my eyes with her gracious humility. Donald Davis kept us laughing and crying with his tale of alementary-school valentines, and Baba Jamal Koram took us with him on a journey of discovery and unde. Sheila Kay Adams managed to work through a LONG train running through her story as she told in a tent very near the railroad tracks--and to the delight of the small boy seated near me, and apparently made a rude gesture when the train went on and on and on...her idea of sacred stories obviously being a little different that what you might expect :-). There were more tellers, all good, but these were highlights for me.

The very best part of the festival, as always, was seeing so many friends again. It has been five years since I've attended a conference, and two since I was at J'boro, and I was so glad to be able to hug and be hugged and knowing that we are as we always have been, very good friends, even though we are often far apart.

Jean Ritchie and Frostburg Appalachian Festival

We got an early start yesterday morning and arrived in Frostburg with plenty of time to find the storytelling venue. We also connected with one of my long-ago friends.

One of the best things about blogging is the people you meet, and in this case the person was someone I'd attended elementary school with and had not seen in over 40 years. Debbie and her husband drove up from northern Virginia to meet us and hear the storytelling. What a pure pleasure to link up again after so long! Debbie had found my blog and has been a reader for about a year, and we've renewed our long-ago friendship. Her husband was a lot of fun too, and a great companion for the day. Debbie brought along a photo of our 3rd and 4th grade classes from the small Catholic school we'd attended. It was surprising how many of the people we could recall.

Debbie, me and Ellouise Schoettler

Storytellers for the concert were Katie Ross, me and Ellouise Schoettler. Katie's husband Otto provided banjo music between sets and for the occasional sing-along. We had a small but steady audience and the afternoon went well. Once again ballads proved to be a popular part of my performance, and I was glad for another opportunity to introduce people to these old songs that so many are unfamiliar with.

Singing Railroad Boy. Like many ballads, this one has an unhappy ending, but the melody is haunting and memorable. Ballads were sung unaccompanied in the beginning, but now there is often an instrumental accompaniment. I sing in the traditional unaccompanied style.

We spent some time wandering the festival grounds, listening to music and looking at the crafts available. I was happy to find some fresh-ground buckwheat flour for pancakes. Then it was off to dinner at Guiseppe's, an Italian restaurant in Frostburg. Conversation was lively, as you can imagine. We said goodbye to Debbie and her husband and headed off to the Jean Ritchie concert.

One of the spontaneous jam sessions that sprinkled the grounds. The young man in the center wearing the tan hat was a great singer and performer.

When Jean Ritchie arrived at the Palace Theatre in downtown Frostburg, a hush immediately fell over the long line of people waiting to enter the theatre. To their credit, no one rushed up to her and tried to talk to her...but cameras, including mine were certainly flashing! I felt almost guilty, like a paparazzi, as I snapped a few photos of Jean and her two sons making their way inside.

The opening act was obviously raw and perhaps new the performance stage. They enlightened the audience about their aunt, Ola Belle Reed of North Carolina, a songwriter whose most famous song is the bluegrass tune "High on a Mountain." I like that song and was interested to hear about its creator. I have to say I've heard better bands, but then I can't play a note so who am I to judge?

Then Jean Ritchie took the stage.

What can I say about Jean Ritchie? Her long history as a folk music pioneer, bringing her family's ballad-singing tradition to the world in the 60's, her contribution to the appreciation of the mountain dulcimer, her original songs against strip-mining and even now her writings in opposition to mountaintop removal, her voice that has gained character and resonance with the years, her grace and dignity onstage and her comfortable, front-porch style of performance that made us all feel like we were the only one she was talking to? Or what about the songs and the background on them that she shared? Her two sons performed with her. Their care of their mother and their gentleness was a tribute to this family's love and their awareness that she is indeed a national treasure.

Jean sang a ballad she called "The Walking Song" because people where she grew up often sang it as they walked along the branch (creek) in Kentucky where she grew up; she sang Shady Grove, Skin and Bones, Nottamum (Nottingham) Town, her anti-stripmining anthem "Black Water." (You can hear a version of her singing it when she was younger on YouTube.) Cool of the Day was my favorite, a reminder to us all to care for this earth we have been gifted. There were others, too. I did not write them down because I was mesmerized by her voice and presence on the stage as she talked simply about her music, her family and her love for her homeplace in Kentucky.

Jean and her sons onstage.

It was an evening I will long remember. If you do not know Jean Ritchie's music, do try to find some and listen. Hers is the voice of the mountains, distilled into words and music. Being there to hear her in person was worth every minute of lost sleep and long travel.

I heard through a friend that Jean will be performing during the first week of October in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, for another Appalachian Festival. I checked their schedule, and Jean is scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd. Click here to read about this festival and information on performers.