Wordle is fun!

I had a good time playing with a fun new software called wordle, in which one uses a specific selection of words to generate a "word cloud", or wordle. I generated this particular (below) wordle using content from this very blog! Thanks to fellow storyteller Karen Chace, who shared the wordle web site with her friends and colleagues.

Anansi's Talented Children

For the past 10 weeks I've been working with a group of Kindergartners. Every Friday for one hour, we work out the kinks in a story that they will be group-telling for a live audience in just a few days. The story is one of my favorites, featuring one of my favorite tricksters of all times: Anansi the Spider! You can see them up above, creating their own spider web with one of my many spare balls of yarn. I was so sure this game wouldn't work, but by golly, they made a great web!

It's weird that I adore Anansi, when I can't stand spiders. Fact is, other than being a spider, I can relate to him. He loves to eat, is constantly getting in trouble, but some

times comes up with great ideas that benefit all of humanity. What's not to love?!

(illustration by Gerald McDermott)

The story of "Anansi's Talented Children" is interesting in part because it is episodic; however the big draw is the six kids themselves. Their father at first fails to appreciate their unique and unusual talents, until they save his life. The fun of "group-telling" this story is that each kid gets to play the part of one of the characters, while I narrate. This means that everybody gets an opportunity to participate, and to have their 30 seconds of fame which, for most kids, is usually sufficient! (The little girl who is playing Nyame the Sky God really wanted to be a princess, but is being a good sport about playing the role of an all-powerful cosmos-altering deity instead. You can't have everything!)

Here is a wonderful audio recording of a wonderful re-telling of this story, in which there are only five children, told by Vergine Gulbenkian. Also, be sure to read Gerald McDermott's beautifully illustrated book "Anansi The Spider", highly recommended.

Why Storytellers are Sure to Be Great Folks

Why Storytellers are Sure to Be Great Folks

Musica Nuova in Cambridge - The Boston Globe

Musica Nuova in Cambridge - The Boston Globe

Up In The Air

This video is an excerpt from a performance I did at the annual Davis Square ArtBeat festival in Somerville, MA, of a traditional folk tale called "Why Sun and Moon Live in the Sky", a story

told by the Efik people of Southern Nigeria. This year's ArtBeat theme was water, and the weather was hot, so naturally I told a story that would take the audience on a wet and watery journey!

I like this tale, in part, because it ends up so far from where it starts. The narrative takes a rather circuitous route, leaving listeners guessing for a while. It's clearly a pourquoi tale, and it concerns two verysignificant heavenly bodies. However, it is not very cosmological; very little time is spent up in the sky, the ultimate destination of our co-protagonists.

Interestingly, a third player is brought in - Water - whose actions affect the destinies of Sun and Moon. They say no good deedgoes unpunished, and this is certainly true of the overly hospitable celestial pair, whose efforts to accommodate their aquatic friend and his innumerable brood result in their permanent exile from the earth.

What I find particularly fascinating, is that the storyseems to imply that Sun and Moon prefer their new aerial abode because Water cannot go there. Perhaps the Efik people had an understanding or belief that Water - vital to all life on earth - is something that can only be found on our planet, for its absence in space is a crucial element in the narrative. A wonderful example of how science and storytelling intersect to enrich our understanding of our world, and our universe!

Bridge to Haiti

"Tonton Chien et Neveu Chat", a traditional tale from Haiti, told by Doria Hughes at massmouth's Bridge to Haiti, part of the Cambridge River Festival. I found this story in

Children of Yayoute: Folk Tales of Haiti, by Turenne Des Pres.

On June 5, 2010 massmouth created a unique and wonderful collaborative installation called Bridge to Haiti, as part of the Cambridge River Festival. We invited massmouth Storytellers and local artists to come and work together to maintain awareness for Haiti, in the wake of the recent earthquakes, and in so doing, brought beauty and storytelling to a forlorn old bridge.

Norah and Adriane installing one of our hand-painted Haitian flags on the Weeks Memorial Bridge.

Norah Dooley and Andrea Lovett had been talking about their vision for a collaborative project between artists and storytellers for over a year, and they had lit on the idea of using a bridge as the ideal space to "bridge" the gap between visual and performance art, since it provides the perfect physical space for both disciplines. Saturday morning, despite dire predictions of rain, the day way blustery and blue-skied, so we installed Norah's hand-painted cardboard panels on the bridge, brought snacks, tables, chairs, water, video equipment, and everything we could think of that artists and storytellers might need.

massmouth's gang of four (Norah, Andrea, Stu, and myself) were joined by a team of stalwart volunteers, including Rowan Meade (past winner of one of our Cambridge Story Slams) and Adriane Spunt (one of our excellent Story Slam judges), and various willing minions. At 1pm, we held a brief ribbon-cutting ceremony, and our Bridge to Haiti was officially open to the public!

We were joined by massmouth Storytellers Nicolette Heavey, H.R. Britton, Bruce Marcus, Tony Toledo and Laura Packer, as well as Haitian Master Storyteller Charlot Lucien and his talented children Malaika and Sebastien. Everybody told stories and riddles, while the artists painted and drew on the bridge; folks walking by also contributed their artistic inspiration to the project! It was a beautiful day, a wonderful cause, and happiness was infectious. Ice cream trucks nearby helped, of course!

Thank you to all who came, told, listened, painted, and laughed. I can't wait to see you at our next massmouth event!

Kric? Krac! Haitian storytelling at Cambridge River Festival 2010

Come here and see Haitian stories at the annual Cambridge River Festival, on Saturday, June 5th, as told by myself and my massmouth cohorts! For more information, click here.

massmouth at Riverfest, Cambridge MA 2010

a Bridge to Haiti - Weeks Memorial Footbridge

12noon - 6PM ongoing

massmouth presents Haitian Folktales in a Bridge to Haiti, featuring storyteller Charlot Lucien and others.

We will have story sharing in our tent all day, and also plan to support Folklore and StoryStream tents!

12noon - 6PM ongoing
massmouth opens their tent for ongoing StoryTrades, where all festival visitors are invited into the massmouth tent to share a life story. We will record, or just listen and exchange stories, if you like. Recorded stories will be archived for StoryStream Cambridge. Visit with Haitian storytellers and artists in the tent and find out more about Haiti relief efforts.

1:00PM 2:00PM 3:00PM and 4:00PM "Bridge to Haiti" on the hour
20 minute to 1/2 hour performance of Haitian folk tales by Haitian and massmouth storytellers in collaboration with Haitian and Cambridge visual artists who will respond to the stories in stations across the Charles River on the Weeks Memorial Foot Bridge.