You might think storytelling is a lost or dying art. And that the profession of storyteller has been rendered irrelevant or obsolete by the advance of technology. However, Streetsense dropped into a charming bookshop called Vo Ves Golos {in all voices} and witnessed a group of storytellers who had gathered to recite their stories. The quaint bookshop, located within the vicinity of the city center in Moscow, sells a lot of wonderfully illustrated books for children as well as adults, in addition to cards, pictures and handmade dolls which are unique.
The event is free, and the storytelling group has been organizing their sessions at numerous venues, such as bookshops, libraries, community centers, and festivals. Around twenty people gather in a circle to tell mainly mythological, and old folk stories about animals, monsters, witches and just about everything. Whenever a customer drops in, a storyteller warmly beckons them over with a "Why don't you join us? You are welcome to come and listen—or tell stories."
The participants tend to sit in a circle taking turns to tell a story whenever someone passes an item to them which signals it is their turn. You quickly discover there is a warm, friendly and hospitable atmosphere. In contrast to some cultural bodies, this is a very open and accessible club. Nobody is turned away or charged for this event.
The event is organized around telling stories on a set theme, but one of the organizers, Yana, reassures participants "You can tell stories not connected with the theme if you want." This main theme on the 26th November happened to be about 'Games.'
· A young vivacious and lively black short-haired girl called Anna started to tell an old Irish mythological tale of how there was a long quest to catch the elusive salmon of wisdom which would allow the catcher all the wisdom in the world should they taste it.
· Another storyteller, Yegor, told a story from his local Russian town about a strange woman who decided to just do her own thing! Nobody in the town could forget her!
· Tamara Zaritskaya told her own story 'The Queen's Favorite Cat' about how a feline deprives some wild animals of their natural skills by encouraging them to gamble them away and grant them to the cat. When the Queen hears of this, she scolds the cat—ordering it to return back into the forest and give back what it has dishonestly stolen.
Tamara Zaritskaya has recently had a book published called 'Tales of Unknown Peoples.' Some of those stories are inspired by real folktales, but they are largely all made up. She is not alone in writing books for children and adults.
A few years ago, I was given 'The Way to Dawn: A Collection of Wonder Tales and Poems,' by Anna Filatova. One storyteller, the late Olga Aprelskaya, wrote a book 'Tales about the Cat Bonka: And About All, All, and Everything.'
The last was blessed with being beautifully illustrated by a brilliant artist Igor Oleinikov {2015, Moscow: Premudry Sverchock Publishing House}. The book tells of how the cat, Bonka, attempts to be a true friend by offering assistance to his friends, such as butterflies and rats who tend to get confused by inexplicable events.
This storytelling group has been around for almost ten years now. The main organizers are Yana, Yegor, and Anna Kogteva. I have found that practically everyone present seems to hold a huge repertoire of mythological, folk, and wonder tales. For instance, on many occasions I have heard Yegor tell Irish tales of the Fenians, as well as the tales of King Arthur. He can recite all those stories by heart without any notes.
When I decided to tell how many of the stories collected by the Brothers Grimm were almost edited out of recognition by being turned into a manual for polite manners and good behavior, Yana and others were familiar with the original tales of how one ugly sister from the original Cinderella cut off her toes to make sure her foot got into the shoe.
The seeping blood from the shoe gave away the game. They were well aware of the original tales and how gruesome, cruel, and bloodthirsty they were.
In one tale 'Playing at Butchers', a boy who plays the part of butcher slits the throat of the boy who plays the part of the pig. The screaming mother hearing of this runs out and stabs to death the butcher. Then she goes home and hangs herself while her husband dies of grief.
Another tale told of how a mother tells her children she can no longer feed them and that they must lie down and die so she can survive!
Anna Kogteva states that it is crucial for people to keep telling each other stories. She states that the telling of stories allows people to pass on the values as well as the memories of their own culture. Maira Koroleva, a linguist and storyteller, stated, 'The ancient art of the spoken word - it is the deepest and brightest of our arts. A story can be a blessing for listeners, bring consolation, grant experience, and return the belief in miracles and in the hero which lives in all of us.'
Unfortunately, Maira Koroleva told me "I came across many of my own students who told me their parents had not told them a story even once!" Those Russian students are not alone.
A UNICEF study in 2017 found that approximately 25% of children in developing countries don't hear the bedroom story. This huge study encompassed 64 countries of preschool children. This was not due to the negligence or ignorance of parents. The researchers discovered that it was the poverty and the long hours parents had to work to simply feed the children which prevented them from telling stories. Doctor Pia Britto, one of the researchers, stated, "Time and money constraints deterred storytelling." Indeed, the constant threat of famine, war, and disease made storytelling sound like a luxury to some. The report described 'Storytelling as crucial for the cognitive, emotional, and social development.'
The importance of storytelling is well understood in Scotland. In fact, the Scottish parliament don't want to deprive children of hearing stories. They even passed a law where every child in Scotland must be told a story at school. In Scotland there exist storytelling centers which act as focal points for promoting storytelling events. However, it is worth pointing out that it is only in recent years that in England folklorists have recognized storytelling as a performance art where a storyteller narrates his story to an audience rather than just being an informal or spontaneous act. This is because England lacked a professional group of storytellers not to mention deeply-rooted customs, forums, and bodies where stories could be told—which Scotland and Ireland had.
In Celtic countries, stories were narrated on a regular basis, in homes, and at Ceilidhs. At Ceilidhs people gathered to dance, play musical instruments and tell old stories. {The word Ceildidh is Gaelic for to visit and gossip.} Scotland and Ireland also had professional storytellers known as seanachie who played the role of clan bards, historians, and storytellers.
If we forget our own stories we can lose our own roots not to mention identity. We can even forget our own family history. A recent study by One Poll, in 2022, found that 40% admitted they did not know their own family history. And research by Ancestry, Co.--U.K. found that one quarter of those questioned regretted not speaking to their relatives about their wartime stories and 22% would like to discover an unknown war related tale from their family history. For instance, hardly anyone in my family knew about how my Uncle Alan got stuck in Dunkirk in 1940 and swam a long distance to a British ship who picked him up.
Almost everyone in the family was reticent about this story. If my Uncle Jim had not told me this story, it would not have been passed on. Of course, most survivors of wartime are reticent about retelling such unpleasant events. But we can at least politely ask them—if nothing else!
One of the few joys of life is to hear and tell stories. They not only help define us but can cement family and community ties. We can use stories to create new communities that help foster friendship and inspire new visions.
Oksana Chebotareva, a Russian teacher of English declared that storytelling 'is particularly precious in the age of digital technologies and artificial intelligence as it starts to threaten the job of teacher as well as other professions. It might be the last factor that makes us more valuable than computer technologies and video games.' {See ‘Storytelling in Teaching English’ by Oksana Chebotareva, available on the Internet.}