Ty Nolan
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A Journey Worth Taking by Pat O’Shea
A couple of years ago when I saw an announcement about a Storytelling workshop presented by faculty from the Storytelling Institute at SMCC my heart started racing and I could feel the blood rushing through my veins. Why? I was not a storyteller, nor did I have much experience with stories or storytelling events. Yet…
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Storying Your Life by Leticia Pizzino
“Remember when we were little,” was a common phrase my sister and I used in our very young childhood, not knowing how silly that sounded considering our diminutive size. We were merely modeling our beloved experience of listening to the stories of our family elders. Mutual reminiscing and storying helped shape who we were becoming. My stories…
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Finding Courage – Literally! by Dixie Walljasper
As I was reading chapter 17, “Enlivening Ways and Means,” in Jack Maguire's The Power of Personal Storytelling, I was impressed by the author’s suggestions for adding depth and emotion and sparkle our stories. It sounds very interesting and something that I would like to do. However, I find that I tend to fall into habits of…
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Looking Back by Eva Valdez
I met with my Academic Advisor this week and a dream is becoming a reality. I will graduate in the spring from South Mountain Community College, receive my Storytelling Certification, and head onward to Arizona State University in the fall of 2016. When I began my second phase of academia, I wanted to be a…
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The Unexpected Teacher by Tricia Phillips
"People grow through experience if they meet life honestly and courageously. This is how character is built." Eleanor Roosevelt I began my journey in Personal Stories not really knowing what to expect. I heard from a few people the trouble they had with sharing those personal stories. I didn't know if I would have the same…
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Transformational Kindness by Nancy Wolter
Since my brother Dean passed away in 2004, my eight remaining siblings and I get together annually. Without spouses. Without kids. Without an agenda, except to be with each other, to share stories and memories, to savor a special dinner prepared just for the weekend. In November, however, my sister Ellen added another tradition: bringing…
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“Yes, and . . .” by Chrissy Dart
As I sit in my bedroom with my dogs, I can hear my daughter and her improvisational comedy troupe practice in the living room. They make all kinds of noises, then they are silent, then they burst out laughing. There is a sense of freedom in the sounds. It permeates my house. The freedom oozes…
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A Photo Opportunity by Laurie Provost
As directed by Jack Maguire's activity at the end of chapter 8, "A Photo Opportunity" from his book poignantly titled, The Power of Personal Storytelling… I found a photo of myself and one or more family members, that's at least fiver years old, preferably older, and jumped right into the activity. The photo I chose happens…
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Personalizing Myth by Marian Giannatti
I recently read an article in the National Storytelling Network’s Healing Storytelling Alliance Special Interest Group, Personalizing Myth (2008), by Suzanne Montz Adams. Ms. Adams wrote the article after some extensive research into the writings of Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth, and Clarissa Pinkola Estes’ Women Who Run with the Wolves. Her readings and…
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The Day the Light Got In by John Genette
On September 25, 2015, I presented a solo performance of original stories and songs, “The Cracks Are Where The Light Gets In,” at The Whole Life Center at Shadow Rock UCC in Phoenix, Arizona. The show was warmly received by an audience of about 70 people, and it affirmed the power of personal storytelling. “The Cracks…” is the…
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The First Time I Heard Donald Davis by Terri Jackson
His voice was very intense, humorous, soothing and quiet. It reminded me of the guy from “A Prairie Home Companion” radio show, Garrison Keillor. I was so enthralled by Mr. Davis’ storytelling that I purchased his book Writing as a Second Language from Experience to Story to Prose and his CD Cripple Joe: Stories from My Daddy. …
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Best Practices for Personal Story Crafting by Gail Kimzin
I am fond of making plans and making lists. My husband accuses me of “making plans to make a plan. He says that I can never just go with the flow. He is absolutely correct; I cannot. In my world of academia, lack of planning is disastrous. Teachers plan lessons so that their expectations and student outcomes match. In…