This post is one of a series on oral storytelling.
Oral storytelling can, indeed it often does, stop with an audience of young children. This mindset detracts from a rather grand old story telling tradition; but oral storytelling can handle the big stuff.
I won’t go into a mild rant over the importance of the Iliad, the Canterbury Tales, let alone those wonderful tales from Persia. Take it as read, please, that oral storytelling has been around for a long time and it is only the advent of the printed word that has pushed it out the door. It’s still there, outside on the balcony. Someone open a window!
The questions become:
1. When can we tell longer stories? What audience?
2. What stories can stand up to this medium?
3. How do I do it?
I’m glad you asked.
Start small, tell the little stories first. Okay, I’m going to assume that you can do this; you can relate the Three Billy Goats Gruff, Hairy Maclary from Donaldson’s Dairy holds no fears for you and the thought of Mem Fox’s Possum Magic does not send icy shivers of fear down your non-storytelling spine. Get back in line, that man!
There is a middle step before hitting the big, big stories and I’ll talk about that in my next post. For now, go to the library and ask the librarian to recommend some middle years primary school books to you; he or she will fall on your shoulder and weep with gratitude.
Get ‘em and read ‘em. Now, pick one and tell the story aloud to yourself. The best ones have a linear storyline with a single protagaonist but, as in all thing literary, these rules are made to be broken. The ending has to be clear cut, no cliff hangers – good guys win, bad guys lose. In my opinion a strong moral message makes the best story, but I’ll come back to that point at another time.
So, here’s a couple of starter stories for you. tomorrow I’ll discuss them in a bit more detail. I know they both work, told ‘em lotsa times…
1. Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Mr. Kipling (suprised you there, didn’t I?)
2. Dogger by Shirley Highes (the woman is a saint)
Okay, now you all have your homework; I’ll see you tomorrow.
Filed under: oral storytelling | Tagged: Dogger, Hairy Maclary from donaldson's dairy, kipling, mem fox, oral storytelling, Possum magic, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, Shirley Hughes, storytelling, writing
Rikki-Tikki-Tavi!! I remember a teacher reading this aloud to the class when I was just six or seven. Kipling is one of my all-time-favourite writers – particularly the short stories.
I don’t know Saint Shirley Hughes though. Your link leads to some kind of junk advertising site, otherwise I’d have read Dogger by now.
Thanks, Graham. The links are causing me some grief – sometimes they go to where I want and otherimes it’s a mystery.
Learning curve firmly inplace,
terry