“The lamp that lit that room, a thousand pounds wouldn’t buy a wick for it.” (a disguised description of the moon from “Lord Benbow’s Table” from When Turkeys Chewed Tobacco by George Sheridan)
Liz Weir was the lamp that lit the room of the Three Rivers Storytelling Festival for most of the week of June 10th. She arrived on Monday night to tell in Longford on Tuesday. She told for two Galway libraries, Loughrea and Portumna, on Wednesday. On Thursday she came to my class in the morning and then told for Athlone’s Aidan Heavey Library in the afternoon. Thursday night she took me to the Yarnspinners in Dublin. Friday morning she told at the library in Ballinasloe and by Friday night she was back home in Cushendall.
During the week we had three great dinners out: Tuesday at The Olive Garden by the bridge over the Shannon in Athlone, Wednesday night with Danielle Allison at Grogan’s Pub in Glasson on Lough Ree, and Thursday night in Dublin at Dunne & Crescenzi, a wonderful Italian place a couple of streets over from Grafton Street. It was a week full of stories, conversation, and food. I was so sorry to see her go.
With my students in The Irish Storytelling Tradition, Liz emphasized the importance of being yourself as a storyteller and that each of us has his or her own style to find, develop and honor. She told them how she became a storyteller and some of the ways that she has applied storytelling to issues of social justice. She told them several stories including “Lord Benbow’s Table” which is one of my favorites.
Her work to stop bullying and to promote tolerance made a great impression on them. She developed and wrote the scripts for a series of cartoons on Early Years: The Organization for Young Children. If you haven’t seen them, check them out here. They are deceptively simple and very moving. There are six cartoons on themes including the inclusion of children who live in minority ethnic communities or who have a disability or physical difference. Last year when she was here she met some Traveler children in Ballinasloe and told them about one of the scripts she was developing. One of their comments ended up in the final product – a comment about a dog – “He’s only being playful.”
I had asked the class to read two articles by Liz, “Listen Up! A Tale of the Teller” and “Paddy the Irishman.” Here are some of their comments about Liz and what they read:
“This was probably my favorite article so far because I could relate to it. I’m studying human development and declining communication skills and confidence are two major things that this generation is faced with, probably due to so much instant technology i.e. texting, e-mail, TV.. Everything’s so efficient that we no longer require good old fashion books, phone calls, or face to face chats! I’m totally guilty too, but I’m afraid to see what’s going to happen to my kids or grandkids. I really love reading children’s books. I collect all the good ones because I have so much fun reading to them and acting them out. It’s something I hope to instill in my own children someday.”
“I really liked this. I loved Liz. She was so cool. I love that she wrote this and I want everyone to read it. Because even though it seems like we’re are becoming a more okay society with different ethnicities were still making jokes at others expenses just to get a laugh and that’s not okay. And we need to realize when we have gone too far.
“I really liked this article! I love that they (storytellers) are giving their skills back to the community! I love that they care enough about these kids and help them better with the talking and listening skills! It is such a good idea to have every teacher have this in their classrooms!”
“I enjoyed reading this article because I got an understanding of how important storytelling really is and also how effective it can be too. It makes me want to start telling stories to little kids.”
Liz told my students that the power of storytelling lies in the imagination. The storyteller evokes images, but does not actually provide them the way television or movies do. Listening to stories allows "the audience to do a bit of the work." That, says Liz, is what engages them more deeply in what they are hearing.
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