Conversations With Storytellers Lindyline

Shonaleigh comes from an old Jewish tradition.  Hailing from Britain, she is a Drut'syla (pronounced Dreet-zella). who was taught around 3,000 stories by her Bubbe, Eldith Marks. These stories are told traditionally in cycles. Some stories are short, but some are incredibly long. They make the Odyssey look like a Saturday morning cartoon. Shonaleigh was a delight to chat with, and I hope you enjoy this episode of "Conversations with Storytellers."


You can find more of her work including videos and audio recordings at https://shonaleigh.uk/
If you want to join Twilight Tales with Shonaleigh, you can join the group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/twilighttales/


And my work is, as always, at Diamondscree.com


Peace, Simon

Antonio Rocha has created a masterful piece of storytelling about a slave ship called Malaga. There is a connection between the ship and Antonio and this plays into his telling. I cannot wait to share this conversation with you.
Antonio began life as a mime, then became a storyteller. In 2020 he discovered a story about a slave ship which was built in Maine, where he now lives, and operated between the States and Brazil, where he grew up. His heritage is part African. This episode is about his research and the story and what it meant to him to be able to tell this story.

I have been seeing and bumping into Fran Stallings for a long while and have had one or two conversations with her and we have talked about doing this for a long time. On this episode, unfortunately there is a popping sound from, I think, Fran's microphone. It came over on the recording and I couldn’t always get rid of it. Apologies for staticky tech! Also, we talked about suffragettes and I mis-spoke causing Fran to misspeak. I mis-pronounced Emily, or Emmeline Pankhurst’s name, it is not Parkhurst! Emily Pankhurst never met Susan B Anthony, the former coming to the United States a few years after Susan B Anthony’s death.


Fran Stallings started as a biologist hoping to dance. She is a well respected storyteller and tells stories she heard and collected in Japan from Hiroko Fujita, other folk tales, stories to help save the environment, and the occasional personal story. Fran started telling stories as a teacher, then to her kids, and earned money as a professional towards the beginning of the renaissance in the early 1980’s. She's still at it. She is a wonderfully warm person and great teller of traditional tales. Here, she shares her journey and connection to Japanese stories and Hiroko Fujita, and her environmental work. Fran shares her work process and why folk and fairy tales are important to her.


I hope you enjoy this conversation with Fran Stallings.

Joseph Bruchac is one of the preeminent Native storytellers in the USA. He is part Slovak and part Abenaki. He is a keeper of Native traditional tales, marched with Martin Luther King Jr., told poetry with Robert Bly and is one of my favourite storytellers and writers. Did you know he drove (and maybe still drives) a Harley, and taught in Ghana? Now you do! Find out other fascinating things about Joseph in this wonderful interview. Not to be missed!

Raised in Clayton, New York, Regi Carpenter came from the school of scrappy, studied music, but became a storyteller! Although steeped in folk and fairy tales, myths and legends, she also tells deep personal narrative. Digging deep in the well of truth she brings her love of language to all the tales she tells, and shares with us her two very different processes on learning stories, whether it’s a folk tale, or personal story. Regi also shares a folk tale.
I hope you enjoy this episode.
Regi’s website: https://regicarpenter.com/

I had been hearing about Doug for a while, and then heard his harmonica at a festival, then briefly met with him at said festival. I bought one of his CDs and loved what he did, and decided we should hear his voice here! Doug is a humble man with a deep knowledge of the woods, marshes, swamps, rainforests and a deep desire to show the human connection with the world about us through storytelling. There’s a fair bit about vultures, or peace eagles, and I get to show off how ignorant I am about nature!
One of Doug's motos: "Life is like playing a harmonica - you find a good note and wail on it!"
Doug's website: https://dougelliott.com/
Doug's books and CDs: https://dougelliott.com/shop/