storytelling
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Musing on Gretel by Diana Lucente
“Gretel in Darkness” by Louise Gluck, is written from the perspective of Gretel. The poem made an impression on me in its very denial of anything female. Both stepmother and witch are dead, and Hansel and Gretel are living in the apparent security of their father's home. But Gretel is troubled. She cannot forget. She…
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The Role of the Storyteller by Louise Laux
“Storytellers, through their stories, can enter into our imagination and interact with our deepest human emotions.” Donald L. Hamilton The above quote reflects some of what I hope for as a storyteller. I’d like to be able to convey meaning, understanding, entertain, interact, and teach with my stories. We humans have the unique ability to…
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France: My Story by Louise Laux
My exploration of France and it’s stories has really only just begun. The country is rich in history, culture, literature, art, fashion, cuisine, story and, for me, family history. As I began my search through this fascinating country, I hoped to find some great information about the country and landscape as well as stories, and…
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Will the Real Hansel and Gretel please stand up? by Diana Lucente
Hansel and Gretel is one of the most well known and beloved fairy tales in all the world. But many people do not realize that several versions and variants of the story actually existed before the ubiquity of the popular Grimm version of the Hansel and Gretel tale that we all know and love today. One…
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Famine or Feast: The Quest for a Happy Medium in “Hansel and Gretel” by Diana Lucente
The tale of Hansel and Gretel makes one think about "food", both in a literal and in a figurative sense. The story begins in hunger and the desire for food and plays out with the children gorging themselves on a gingerbread house and then being captured by a witch who wants to gorge herself on them! …
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You Could Be a Changeling! by Jim Dennis
Remember when you were a teenager, and your parent’s prime duty was to embarrass you? They were good at that. You would put your hands in front of your face and say “I don’t know you”! Well, perhaps those words should have been spoken by your parents. For maybe you are a changeling, and they…
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Reflecting on Rapunzel by Sandi Brassel
My four granddaughters absolutely love Rapunzel. They play her video at home and in the car. They have the Ranpunzel doll with her beautiful red hair. They love for me to make up stories about her and tell them. Sometimes we get quite creative and she goes to the beach and if someone is drowning…
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Paredolia by Jim Dennis
On Saturday, May 5, 2012, I watched the moon rise over the eastern horizon. It was an awesome sight, a full moon called the “Super Moon”. Since it was 15,000 miles closer to earth than usual, it appeared brighter and larger than most full moons. In folklore, there are stories about a rabbit that lives…
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Chinese Antithetical Couplets by Peggy Babbitt
In my research on Chinese folklore and cultural practices I learned about “antithetical couplets”. This was fascinating to me because I enjoy poetry. The couplets are usually displayed on vertical red banners at the Chinese New Year festival. Families in both urban and rural areas traditionally handpick a pair of Spring Festival couplets to paste…
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Longevity Noodles by Peggy Babbitt
Are spaghetti noodles an ancient Chinese secret? Apparently so. When Marco Polo arrived in China he experienced the noodles and took them back to Italy. In China they are known as longevity noodles. They are eaten at the New Year and the Chinese believe the longer the noodles the longer their lives will be. They are…
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Golden Cookies by Peggy Babbitt
Do you think that Fortune Cookies are lucky? Or do you think that it’s a myth that the numbers in the back are lucky, or that the sayings are true? A Fortune Cookie usually entails premonitions about love, career, happiness and money. Is it a coincidence that five people in the United States won the…
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Oranges and Tangerines by Peggy Babbitt
The Chinese New Year is known as the Spring Festival to the Chinese people. It marks the end of the winter season and starts on the first solar term in the Chinese calendar. Wikipedia defines “solar term” as “ any of 24 points in traditional East Asian lunisolar calendars that matches a particular astronomical event or signifies…