World Storytelling Day March 20
National Day Celebrates the Power of Story to Unite Communities
In communities all over the world, people will be gathering during the month of March to narrate stories and listen to them. From its humble beginnings in Sweden in the early 1990’s, World Storytelling Day has grown into an international festival of storytelling.
Links at the World Storytelling Day website demonstrate the idea of a national day for storytelling has caught on with storytellers in many countries. The internet has facilitated this spontaneous growth and encouraged avid tellers of tales to organize their own community-based events.
Some locales feature professional storytellers while others are open to anyone who wants to try a hand at storytelling. The theme for World Storytelling Day in 2009 is neighbors.
Preparing a Story
Responding to the theme of neighbors, would-be narrators will find plenty of inspiration for content in their immediate community. Stories about neighborliness include:
- Tales about people who are active in their communities, supporting local institutions, helping their neighbors or challenging the status quo
- Narratives about being friends with neighbors and the small acts of kindness that transform community relations
- Stories of pesky or irritating neighbors, related with humor
Having identified narrative content, it is time to begin embroidering the story. Robert Fulghum, author of All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, maintains that he keeps a copy of the Storyteller’s License above his desk. This license allows him to use his imagination to rearrange his experience to improve a tale, so long as it serves some notion of Truth. Deviation from bald facts is allowed in storytelling.
Embroidering a story is also a way to bring it to life. Many small details make a story feel and sound real. Like the hand-carved decoy of a duck, with its dozens of fine knife strokes to render feathers, the details of a story draw listeners in and engage their senses. Even the most outlandish story can persuade listeners with the quality of its embroidery.
Organizing Content for Stories
When creating a story, a chronological sequence often facilitates the audience’s ability to connect with the content. One of the simplest and most compelling ways to narrate a story is with an organic approach: a story about a situation, what happened to change it, and how the situation worked out. Wisdom stories from folk tradition often follow this type of format.
Listening to the progress of the tale, people find their way into the story. Heads begin to nod in agreement as the narrator relays an experience familiar to many. Stories speak to listeners at a feeling level, transcending conventional logic and discourse.
Storytelling Rituals
Ritual is a way to welcome storytellers and listeners alike into a storytelling circle. It helps people relax and enjoy the experience. Cymbals and other musical devices can be used to mark the official beginning of an event, or the end of a story.
In North American aboriginal culture, a “talking stick” is often passed from one narrator to the other; she who holds the stick is free to narrate a tale without fear of interruption. Generous listening is an important part of any storytelling event.
Perhaps the greatest impediment to oral storytelling is the fear many people have about speaking publicly. The best way to overcome this fear is to form a storytelling circle and meet regularly to practice storytelling skills. It is a small leap from the safety of the circle to a community event held to mark World Storytelling Day.
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