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WorldStorytellingInstitute(Chennai)
Dr.EricMiller,Director
Storytellingenewsletter
Nov2011
DearStorytellingFriends,
Hello!ThiseditionoftheWSIStorytellingenewsletterincludes
discussionregarding:
Howcan"fairytale"bedefined?And,
ArethereIndianfairytales?
(InpreparationforAustrianStorytellerHelmutWittmansvisitto
Chennaion23and24Nov,featuringafreeWorkshopandPerformance.)
and
Waysinwhichchildrendrawingelementsofstories,anddiscussing
storiesafterastoryistoldcanleadtochildrenreadingand
writing.
***
Firstofall,Nov2011isprovingtobeabusymonthfortheWSI!
1
Thispastweekend(4and5Nov),IledStorytellingWorkshopswith
Teachers,andwithParentsandChildrentogetheratOneUp(a
Library,Bookstore,andExperienceCentre)inAmritsar.
InfoaboutOneUpishere.
2
ThiscomingSundaymorning(13Nov),asixsessionStorytelling
Workshop(ledbymyselfinChennai)begins.ThisWorkshopwillmeet
onsixconsecutiveSundaymornings.
Infoishere.
3
TheWSIcontinuestheYearofStorytelling(onceamonth)atthe
OxfordBookstoresinChennaiandMumbai:
___ThisSaturday(12Nov)at5pm,KanupriyawillbeStorytellingat
theBookstoreinChennai.
TheeventPosterishere.
___ThisSunday(13Nov)at4pm,UshaVenkatramanwillbeStorytelling
attheBookstoreinMumbai.
TheeventPosterishere.
4
HelmutWittman,aStorytellerfromAustria,isscheduledtobein
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ChennaionWednesday23,andThursday24Nov.TheWSIis
facilitatinghisvisitwhichwouldfeaturea2session
StorytellingWorkshop,andaPerformance(allforfree).
LinkstoHelmut'sschedule,webpage,andphotos,arehere.
(IfyoumightbeinterestedinattendingHelmut'sStorytelling
Workshop,pleasecontactme,at9840394282.)
***
Howcan"fairytale"bedefined?And,
ArethereIndianfairytales?
DuringhisupcomingvisittoChennai,StorytellerHelmutWittmanof
Austriawillbetellingusandwillbeteachinguswaystotell
Europeanfairytales.
HelmuthasalsoexpressedaninterestinlearningaboutIndianfairy
tales.Thishaspromptedmetodoalittleresearch.
TwoareasinwhichIndianandEuropeanfairytalesmightdiffermight
be:
1)InIndianstories,themagicaltransformationsmightbeachieved
bysupernaturalbeingsotherthanfairies(Europeseemstobethe
fairycapitaloftheworld)and
2)Thenatureoftheyoungheros/heroine'stemporaryisolation,
earlyinthestory,maytendtooccurdifferentlyinEuropeanand
Indianfairytales.
However,pleasedecideforyourselfregardingthesematters.
AndIwouldbemostinterestedtohearandreadanyIndianstories
thatmightstrikeyouasafairytale.
TwocollectionsofIndianstoriesonlineare:
IndianFairyTales(1912),byJosephJacobs,at
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs.html#INDIAN.
99Tamilfolktales,collectedbyStuartBlackburn
(collectedinconversationalTamilstorytellingsessions,
andtranslatedintoEnglish),at
http://www.storytellinginstitute.org/99.doc.
Tobegintodefine"fairytale":
Folktalesarecreatedbycommunities(notbyindividualauthors),and
arepasseddownorallyfromonegenerationtothenext.
Onetypeoffolktaleisthe"fairytale"whichisalsosometimes
knownasthe"wondertale".
Fairytalecharactersareoftenlikepaperdolls,inthattheytend
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tobeveryclearlydefined,withnocomplicatedemotionsormindsets.
Fairytalestendtohaveasomewhatabstractstyle.Theytendto
takeplaceinlandscapesthatcouldbeanywhere.Suchlandscapes
existbeyondhistoricaltimeandplace.
Thematerial,glass,seemstohaveaspecialaffinitytofairytales
(Cinderellasglassslipper,thestoryoftheGlassCoffin,thestory
oftheGlassMountain,etc).
ManyEuropeanfairytalesdonothavefairiesinthestory.However,
thesefairytalestakeplaceinamagicalrealminwhichallmatter
canbetransformedinstantly.Fairytalesfeaturemagicofa
peculiarmoodandpower.Thisrealmistheoppositeofthe
laborious,scientificrealm.Infairytales,justwishingcanmake
itso(sometimes).
Thecharactersinthefairytalesdonotquestionhowmagical
transformationsarepossible:rather,theyunquestioninglyacceptthe
existenceofsupernaturalcharacterswhocanexercisepowerfulmagic.
Afairytaleprotagonisttypicallyinteractswithotherworlds(which
mayseemmagicandstrangetous).Thismagicmayberelatedto
innerforcesand/orsupernaturalpowers.
Fairytalesoftenportraythedevelopmentalstagesinayoung
personslife.Themagicaltransformationsthatoccurinfairytales
oftenhavetodowiththeprotagonistmovingfromonelifestageto
thenext.Thus,fairytalesareoftencomingofagestories.They
presenttheadventuresofayoungpersonashe/shestrugglestofind
his/herwayintheworld.Thefriendsandteachershe/shefinds
alongthewayareoftenessentialtohis/hersuccess.
Inspiteofobstaclesandpitfalls,protagonistsinfairytalesmay
accomplishatask,gainwealth,findamate,andgainwisdom.
Sometimes,thehero/heroineundergoestrialswhichmayleadto
his/herinnerandoutertransformation.Theleadcharacterofa
fairytaleoftenmovestothenextstageoflifewithhelpfrom
magicalfriends.Andtypically,fairytalesendwiththe
protagonist'smarriage.
Earlyinafairytale,theprotagonistmayseemtobeafailure.
He/shecan'tdothingslikeeveryoneelsecan.Thissometimesleads
totheprotagonistleavinghis/herfamilytomakehis/herwayinthe
world.
Iwouldask,"MightthisoccurinIndianfairytalesalso?Mightthe
heroes/heroinesofIndianfairytalessetoffontheirownasmuchas
isdonebysimilarcharactersinEuropeanfairytales?
ItshouldbenotedthateveninEuropeanfairytales,theisolation
oftheprotagonistisoftennotcompleteoftenhis/hermission
involveshelpinghis/herfamilymembers.
Thefairytaleprotagonistoftenhasadeepconnectionwiththe
naturalandsupernaturalworlds.Thischaractercanoftenunderstand
animallanguages:he/shehelpstheanimals,andtheanimalshelp
him/her.
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Itisthehero's/heroine'sinnocence,kindness,politeness,
considerateness,andhumilitywhichhelpshim/hersucceed.Onthe
otherhand,wicked,rude,selfcenteredcharactersarepunished.The
rewardsandpunishmentsthatappearmagicallyinfairytalesoften
seemtorepresentthosecharacters'innernatures.
Insummary:Fairytalesoftencentreonahero/heroine,usuallypoor
atthestart,who,afteraseriesofadventuresinwhichsupernatural
elementsplayaconspicuouspart,attainshis/hergoaland"lives
happilyeverafter"(Krappe1930).
FurtherReading
TheEuropeanFolktale:FormandFunction(1947),byMaxLuthi.
TheFolktale(1946),byStithThompson.
ScienceofFolklore(1930),byAlexanderHaggertyKrappe.
"OnFairyStories"(1965),byJ.R.R.Tolkien.Inhisbook,Tree
andLeaf.
ThisessayalsoappearsinTheTolkienReader(1972).
"DefinitionsofFairyTales",
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/introduction/ftdefinition.html.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairy_tale.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Coffin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Mountain_(fairy_tale).
IndianFairyTales(1912),byJosephJacobs,at
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs.html#INDIAN
and
http://www.sacredtexts.com/hin/ift/index.htm.
PrefacetoIndianFairyTales(1912),byJosephJacobs
http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/authors/jacobs/indian/preface.html
.
99Tamilfolktales,collectedbyStuartBlackburn,
http://www.storytellinginstitute.org/99.doc.
Linkstomanycollectionsoffolktales,
http://www.storytellinginstitute.org/87.html.
Thankstonumerousmembersof
theStorytelllistserv,and
StorytellersonFacebook.
***
Waysinwhichchildrendrawingelementsofstories,anddiscussing
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storiesafterastoryistoldcanleadtochildrenreadingand
writing.
Thesedays,manyparentsseemtoexperienceagooddea1ofanxiety
regardingthedevelopmentoftheirchildrens'speakingandlistening,
andwritingandreading,abilities.
Thefactisthat,comparedtoyoungpeopleinthepretelevisionage,
interestinreadingandwritingoftenlagsintoday'syoungpeople.
Manyyoungpeopletodayseemtoprefertoplayvideogames.
Andyet,manyparentsfeelthattheirchildren'slanguageskills
(oralandliterary)remainkeytothosechildrenfulfilling
themselvesintellectuallyandprofesionally.
Ihavewrittenelsewhereregarding
"StorytellingandStorylistening,andChildren'sIntellectual,
Emotional,andSocialDevelopment",
and
"UsingStorytellingtoFacilitateReadingandWriting".
HereIwoulddiscussthreeStorytellingrelatedactivitiesthatmight
facilitatethedevelopmentofreadingandwritingbychildren:
1)Childrendrawing,addinglettersandwordstopictures,andmaking
books.
2)Parentsreadingandtellingstoriestochildrenatnight.
3)Parents(andteachers)discussingstorieswithchildren.
1)Childrendrawing,addinglettersandwordstopictures,andmaking
books.
Asmentionedabove,IrecentlyvisitedtheOneUpBookstore,Library,
andExperienceCentre,inAmritsar.Itwasveryinterestingthata
bookstoreandlibrarywerecombined.ButthethingthatmadeOneUp
trulyfascinatingformewasitsExperienceroom.ThisiswhereI
ledStorytellingWorkshopsforteachers,andforparentsandchildren
together.
OneUp'sExperienceroomhasasoftcarpet,andnumerousbeanbag
chairsandpaddedstoolsaswellaschairswithbacksandtables.
Thus,visitorscanchoosetheirphysicalsituation,andcanbevery
comfortableastheyread,write,anddraw.
InthecourseoftheStorytellingWorkshops,Ioftenaskpeopleto
drawaspectsofthestoriestheyarethinkingabout.Ihaverealised
thatdrawingandpaintingisespeciallyimportantforveryyoung
children(whocannotyetwrite):whendrawingandpaintingtheycan
beactive,expressive,andcreative,astheyexplorethemediumof
makingdesignsonpaper.
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Astheygrowolder,childrenmayaddsomelettersandwordstotheir
drawings.Andtheymaystaple,orotherwisebindtogetheranumber
oftheirsheetsofdrawings.Prestotheyhavemadeabook!(They
couldcallita"comicbook",ora"graphicnovel"iftheymight
like.)
Forchildrentodevelopthehabitofreading,itisessentialthat
theyfeelrelatedtobooksincludingthattheycanmakethem.In
thisway,childrenwouldnotfeelthatbooksarealientothem,too
difficult,andbeyondthem.
2)Parentsreadingandtellingstoriestochildrenatnight.
Anotherwaytoinculcatethehabitofreadingandwritinginchildren
istoreadstoriestothematnight,whenthechildisinbed.
Tellingstorieswithoutbooksisalsoveryintellectuallyand
creativelynourishingforthechild:readingandtellingcanbe
alternated.
Evenifreadingtoachildmightbeatiringtaskforaparent,the
efforttrulyshouldbemade,atleastfromtimetotime.Doingsois
likelytohaveastrongpositiveinfluenceonthechild.Children
tendtodoastheirparentsdo,notwhattheirparentstellthemto
do.
3)Parents(andteachers)discussingstorieswithchildren.
Itisonlynaturalthatwhenparentstellandreadstoriesto
children,theymightalsodiscussthestorieswiththechildren.
Thisdoesnotjustmeanannouncingthemoralofastorytoachild:
thechildlearnsagreatdealmoreifhe/sheisencouragedto
formulatethemeaningofastoryinhis/herownwords.
Perhapssuchdiscussionmightnotbestoccurastheparentistrying
tohelpthechildsleep.Thediscussionofthestoriescouldoccur
someothertime.
Thisdiscussionissoimportantbecausewewantthechildtothink
about,andtoexpress,regardingwhathe/shemightdoifhe/shewere
inthecharacter'splace.Inthisway,achilddevelopshis/her
senseofmoraljudgment,concerninghowtobehaveinvarious
situations.
Workingandplayingwithstoriesincludingdiscussingthem
givesthechildpracticeforliving:theopportunitytodevelop
his/herabilitytothinkaboutsituationsfromvariousangles,andto
articulatethesethoughts.Ibelievethisabilitytoarticulateis
somethingmanyofusparentsdearlywishforourchildrentobecome
capableof,inrelationtobothspeakingandwriting.
***
Bestregardsandwishes,
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Eric
Chennai
Dr.EricMiller
Director,WorldStorytellingInstitute
09840394282
http://www.storytellinginstitute.org
http://www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com
.