"…What was and is crucial for this storyteller (and all
storytellers) is shaping a tale so that it becomes alive, effective, and
relevant…"(The Irresistible Fairy
Tale by Jack Zipes)
This little phrase struck me as I read it. I even bookmarked it
in my Kindle so I could refer to it. Stories have become much more part
of my life than I ever imagined they could. They have given my life a new
dimension and a new meaning and direction. The Jack Zipes has expressed
in words what I have been feeling as I prepare a story.
Story exists. We may think that we are creating stories,
especially when we prepare personal stories to share, and yet the story already
exists. That is why we can tell it. We take something that is there,
often in a lifeless form of a memory or of a printed page. It can be seen
or remembered, but our job is to bring it to life. It must interact with the audience and the
teller, and be free to move and breathe. It must be alive.
I love this notion. It does, however, carry with it a great
responsibility to us as the givers of life. The story will be a
reflection of itself with the dimensions of what we bring to it. Through
our understanding, by investing time and love, we give the story good life.
Bring it well, storyteller! Give it good life!
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