Storytelling Institute at FSU

This past weekend I went to Fairmont State University for the Mountain State Storytelling Institute. The event was co-sponsored by the WV Storytelling Guild. Because I'm already acquainted with several intriguing members of this guild, I knew I wasn't going to be disappointed in spending my time and money on this gathering.
I am happy to report that I was right; I was not disappointed. In fact, I joined the WV Storytelling Guild, bought their book (and several others), and have been enjoying the group emails since they added me to the list on Sunday (it might be worth it to join just to read some of this stuff!).

I won't do well to try and report all that I encountered, but I would like to touch on a few things:

• The first workshop I attended - "From the Porch to the Page: Using the Oral Tradition in Crafting Personal Narrative" - was with storytelling duo 'Mountain Echoes' (June Riffle & JoAnn Dadisman). I've had the pleasure of meeting these women on a couple of other occasions, so knowing that they're both intelligent and articulate (not to mention entertaining) was one reason for choosing this as my first stop. The real selling point, though, was the emphasis on writing. [June flattered me by asking about my book. That made me feel good and I was able to report that I now have an agent - that's news I haven't announced yet. I suppose this small mention means that I will have to post an update on Vultures.] As we settled into our seats, the two women began to spin a tale with the high weeds of summer heat. I saw the glint of sun on the blade of the scythe and was pretty close to smelling the old hunting dog when...they stopped. !. Ack! Nothing like an abrupt interruption to reveal the depth of interest; everyone in the room was disappointed. However, the interruption was for good reason; the start-and-stop of the hunting dog tale was used to breakdown the story and get a good look at it. This was a perfect illustration of the of the mouth-to-page flow of a good story. I like the point that JoAnn made: it flows both ways. She's absolutely right and I will do well to keep that in mind.
• I got to meet Granny Sue in person! I'm just sorry that I didn't get to spend more time with her.
• I enjoyed (maybe a little too much, considering my age) Rich Knoblich's wolf puppet 'Growler' and the story of the "Boy Who Cried" so much that I bought his new book Talking 'bout The Relatives.
• It's women like Dr. Judy Byers who make me want to go back to school. Her workshop was way too short.
• Andy Fraenkel's workshop convinced us (and proved it, too) that we all have worthwhile stories to tell. It was almost shocking to be led into various story elements with seemingly no effort. And then to share the wonder of those tiny bits of awe with another person produced a palpable warmth.
• Bil Lepp summarized about 400 books on the art and techniques of writing using ridiculously simple line drawings and humor. It took him an hour and we laughed all the way through it. Amazing. Someone needs to publish his novels so I can read them (Okay? Do you hear that?).

Finally:

Do you know how hard it is to find appropriate entertainment (not to mention entertaining entertainment) for our entire family? If you don't, I'll tell you: It's impossible. Find something that the 15 year old thinks is funny and the 11 & 8 year olds shouldn't be hearing it. Find something that the 8 year old likes and the 11 and 15 year olds are groaning.

We took the entire family to Friday night's Telling. It was wonderful AND everyone had fun!

(Maybe I'll tell you about the dead baby at another time....)

I wasn't able to attend all the workshops (and that would be my only complaint), but I'm planning for next year....