Reading Reflections and fables

As ubiquitous as  Aesops Fables a refresher course was needed.   Stories smattered with animals, plants or inanimate objects, living their best life and learning from their mistakes are great places to start the search of great story-telling material.  Globally, fables are used as teaching tools to hit home what may be the better way to think if faced by dilemmas. Using beings other than human allow for candid consideration for their actions.   "Oh that fox," or "Oh that frog shouldn't have trusted that lion."  It becomes easier to digest and discuss.    

Though the messages are sound, currently we may have many that do not have the same context with which to understand the stories. For instance some children are not exposed animals  or settings that many of these fable take place.  Half of your storytelling time might be used to simply introduce them to characters or places.  Using the through lines of Aesops making with a tweak here or there could make it more accessible to your audience.   

A great resource that I found in my searching was Library of congress  collections of Aesops fables.   The ones that I would lean too are 

Mercury and the Woodman

The Hare and the Frogs

The Oak and the Reeds

The Crow and the Pitcher

The North Wind and the Sun

The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse

All have messages that should translate sound lessons for people with many different backgrounds. I would work on different voices and some sort of  hand gestures to not only hook listeners but also to allow them to participate.   This way they can use their  body to retell the story.  

"We express our beliefs, desires, and hopes in stories in an attempt to explain ourselves and understand others" (pg 3, Green, Del Negro). The first three chapters of Storytelling, Art and Technique by Ellin Green and Janice M. Del Negro served as a primer of the Storytelling in the library setting and how it evolved from the european traditions. Serving as a tool to promote reading, literacy and understanding in typically urban areas, storytelling commanded communication among large groups of people. Passion seemed to be at the heart of any good storyteller.   

Given that Libraries in and the United states itself are newer in the scope of the world, the sampling of storytelling throughout known history peaked my interest in Indigenous peoples, and local folklore.   The Charleston Area is brimming with Gullah culture and tradition where the oral storytelling and listening was a necessity rather than entertainment.  The power and pain of the stories draw lines from areas in Africa all the way to the Southern Coast.   Some great examples can be found at Knowitall.org  featuring Carolyn "Jubilee" White.  I have included links of audio and video of The Visitor.  It was captivating to listen and see changes.  

Audio

<iframe src="https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/954571/sp/95457100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/35803241/partner_id/954571?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura-player-1_4enkq81j&entry_id=1_4enkq81j&flashvars[streamerType]=auto" width="560" height="395" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozAllowFullScreen allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" frameborder="0"></iframe>


Video

<iframe src="https://cdnapisec.kaltura.com/p/954571/sp/95457100/embedIframeJs/uiconf_id/35803241/partner_id/954571?iframeembed=true&playerId=kaltura-player-1_1rlr99zv&entry_id=1_1rlr99zv&flashvars[streamerType]=auto" width="560" height="395" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozAllowFullScreen allow="autoplay *; fullscreen *; encrypted-media *" frameborder="0"></iframe>

Tracing the beginnings of stories and telling to now seemed to mirror that of the history of theatre. The heart of both remain the same to tell stories that resonate with people to carry on to others.   


Greene, E., & Negro, J. D. M. (2010). Storytelling: Art and Technique (4th ed.). Libraries Unlimited.

E.T.V. (n.d.). Video Asset | The Visitor | Digital Traditions | Knowitall.org. Knowitall.Org. Retrieved September 3, 2021, from https://www.knowitall.org/video/visitor-digital-traditions

Comments

  1. BASSIMER@email.sc.eduAugust 29, 2021 at 8:34 PM

    Megan, thanks for your insight. It did not occur to me that some children would not be able to relate to animals and the context of the fables. The other thought that you share was in regard to the stories and the history of the theatre. I appreciate your insight and historical reference. I also look forward to exploring the resource that you shared. Thank you for sharing.

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