introducing storytelling toronto’s board of...

Pippin - Winter / Spring 2009 1

Pippin

Vol.14, No.3 The Newsletter of Storytelling Toronto

INSIDE

By Deborah Dunleavy We’ve seen them at our AGM and we’ve met them at numerous storytelling gather-ings. They are the dedicated “behind-the-scenes” team that keeps Storytelling To-ronto’s inner workings well greased. They are the Board of Directors. It takes a special character trait to mo-tivate a person to give up their cozy eve-nings at home and opt for sitting around a table discussing finances, name changes, policy, and other mind-boggling details of advising a not-for-profit organization. For their selflessness we are thankful, for their commitment we are envious, and for their motivation we are curious. KAREN BLAIR joined the Board three years ago when invited by Lorne Brown to do so. “I’m a New Brunswicker with family go-ing back 400 years to Quebec and to New England. More settled in before the Loyal-ists, some arrived with the Loyalists, and the latest arrived in the 1820s. I have some First Nation ancestry also, but they were also “newcomers” to the area, having moved there from near Bangor, Maine. I grew up in a border town and people often find it difficult to place my accent, with its mix of southwest New Brunswick and New England.” “I enjoy travelling, but haven’t done as much as I would like. I’ve travelled outside Canada, but my most recent long trip was here. A couple of years back I had a six-week sabbatical from work and headed west and north (further north than North

(Continued on page 4)

Up Front with Those Behind the Scenes Introducing Storytelling Toronto’s Board of Directors

A Note From the Editor

Up Front with Those Behind... ...1 Storytelling House Concerts.......3 Book Nook Junior ..................6 Book Nook ..........................7 Chalmers Award: Dan Yashinsky..8 Yasmin Siddiqui in India ..........9 Artscape Wychwood Barns........9

Rasputin’s Café: 1981-2008......10 Stories Goin’ Round ................11 A Book of Spells ...................11 Listings..............................12 Festivals in the Works.............13 Storytelling in Rural Communities .13

As I compile your gener-ous contributions dear read-ers, I am reminded that the winter months were tradition-ally the time when storytel-

ling really came alive. By the light of the fire, when night ruled over day, the long hours were filled with the illumination of stories. Kings and queens, paupers and peasants, fools and witches, all danced vividly in our imaginations. It is heart warming to see that so many of you are so busy keeping our lis-teners enthralled with stories of wonder

and adventure. What better way to steal us away from the blue buzzing screens of our computers, televisions and cell phones. Thanks to you, we are all invited to create a theatre of the mind with the stories that you spin. Still, putting together an edition of Pippin is a bit like working on a jig-saw puzzle except that the pieces all come in oddly shaped sizes. Some arrive in a spectrum of colours; others come in pe-culiar fonts with irregular spacing. Well, all of that takes literally hours and hours and hours of editing for a team of volun-teers. As an artist I appreciate the desire to jazz up one’s work but all of the frills make extra work for the folks at this end. I can only imagine what a task it is for chris cavanaugh, our faithful de-signer. I do my best to put everything in


The new home of Storytelling Toronto — see page # for more photos from the opening event.

2 Pippin - Winter / Spring 2009

**NOTA BENE**

PIPPIN is the newsletter of Storytelling Toronto

The Storytellers School of Toronto is a registered, non-profit organization that provides a creative home for a community of storytellers,

listeners, and story-explorers. Our mission is to inspire, encourage and support storytelling for listeners, tellers and those who have not yet heard. Since 1979 we have been providing courses and workshops; holding gatherings, festivals and events to celebrate and present the art of storytelling; supporting the creative work of storytellers; and producing publications about storytelling and storytellers.

Pippin Editor Deborah Dunleavy

[email protected]

Design/Layout

chris cavanagh

Book Reviewer Rheba Estante

Listings

Marylyn Peringer

Program Leaders Festival Director: Catherine Melville

Resident Teachers: Marylyn Peringer, Lynda Howes Directory: Bruce Carmody

Legless Stocking: Lorne Brown, Catherine Melville STORYFIRE: Catherine Melville

Website: Bruce Carmody

[email protected]

Board of Directors 2008-2009 Karen Blair June Brown David Gladstone Paul Robert Hildy Stollery Molly Sutkaitis Tasleem Thawar

Office Director

Jody James

© Storytelling Toronto (formerly Storytellers School of Toronto)

Ph: 416-656-2445 Fax: 416-656-8510

www.storytellingtoronto.org

MAILING ADDRESS: P.O. Box 501, 639 Dupont St.

Toronto On M6G 1Z4

STREET ADDRESS: Artscape Wychwood Barns

601 Christie St., Suite #173 Toronto On M6G 4C7

[email protected]

www.storytellingtoronto.org

the same font with somewhat the same spacing, indentation and, heaven help us, correct spellings. Fortunately chris has a keen eye and he makes Pippin beautiful to the eye of the beholder. We’ve all heard the term “less is more”? For publishing it’s SIMPLE IS

BEST. We love to get your news but please, please keep it simple. The best solution is to send the submission as an attachment in a word document. I’m partial to a font called “Ariel”, so if you are able to use it, that would also save time at this end. Happy telling!

(Continued from page 1)

Toronto Festival of Storytelling

2009 March 27 – April 5

This year’s Toronto Festival of Storytelling promises to be as exciting as ever! We’ve got artists coming from across the nation – and more flying in from across the world! So mark your calendars and ready your ears because there’s a story for everyone at this year’s festival. Come and find one for you! At various venues in Toronto, including Artscape Wychwood Barns INFO: Contact STORYTELLING TORONTO [email protected] tel. 416-656-2445

www.torontofestivalofstorytelling.ca


by June Brown In January 2008, I decided to host storytelling house concerts, an idea I picked up from the Ottawa Storytellers at the SC-CC Conference in Hamilton. I didn’t know if house concerts were being held in Toronto, but if they were, I was not on the guest list, so I decided to start my own, and since I had given parties all my life what could be simpler? In my family I’m know as the “Queen of Theme” so I based my first house concert on the Twelfth Night Celebration. I held it in January. I left my Christmas decorations up and added three sequined apples to the mistletoe. They represented the three apples that fell from heaven in the Arme-nian saying: one for the teller, one for the listener, and one for the person who truly heard. The guests enjoyed food and drink and a round of wonderful tellings by Marilyn Perringer, Hidly Stollery and Anna Kerz. Lorne Brown shared his knowledge of Twelfth Night traditions in England. He told of banging pots in the apple orchard before going in to the house to drink warm apple cider. Heather Whaley ended the evening by playing her guitar and singing songs. All in all I considered it a great suc-cess. The next house concert was “Thanksgiving, Tea and Tales” on a Sunday afternoon in October. Our tellers for the afternoon were, Carol McGuir, Ariel Balevi, Ann McDonald and me. We all told stories related to the thanksgiving theme. The guest list was too large for my home so the event was held nearby in my son’s condo party room. Again the glue that holds all good gatherings together, food and drink, were in abundance and the room was decorated in a Harvest theme. We allowed plenty of time for the guest to mingle. The comment we heard most was how nice it was to meet and greet old friends in a relaxed setting. Two guests, one a story-teller and one a non-teller, met for the first time in 20 years. They had both gone to the same Moms and Tots class. Talk about connecting! As the guest departed there was a strong feeling of gratitude in

the air. We were all thankful that we were able to share in the gifts of stories, fellow-ship and plenty. Most recently, we met again in my home on a Sunday afternoon to “Celebrate the Solstice”. Guests were asked to make a donation to a literacy program and Norm Perrin donated four books for a draw. Anna Kerz’s Christmas cookies and other goodies filled the table, and wine and eggnog helped quench our thirst. Bruce Carmody told a delightful Christmas story by Ruth Sawyer. Goldie Spencer did beautiful job on the The Gift of the Magi and Donna Dundinsky told very funny Hasidic tale about a Prince who thought he was a rooster. After each story, guests were able to discuss the story with the tellers. This format fostered other comments and lead to a lively conversation circle. The atmos-phere was warm and friendly and filled with the holiday spirit. As I cleaned up I no-ticed my guests had left behind two things: a witch’s broom and a winter coat. Hmm? How does this happen in the middle of a freezing winter? The house concerts I’ve hosted ex-ceeded my expectation. They are an easy and wonderful way to hear stories and con-nect with people. I intend to keep going in 2009 so check your mail. You might be on the guest list for my “Gift of the Gab” St. Patrick’s Day party in March. Here are some helpful hints to remem-ber when planning a storytelling house con-cert: ♦ Choose the date carefully. Check the

web for other storytelling and special events.

♦ Choose a time that will allow most of your guest to come: Daytime vs. night-

time. Weekend vs. weekday. Sunday afternoons seem to work well for me.

♦ Make a personal call to a guest who is not well known to you before sending them an invitation. Tell them how you got their name and whom they might know that is also invited.

♦ Consider sending invitations by regular mail. E-mail addresses change often and if people don’t recognize your name your invitation might go right into junk mail. Even when they do get through people forget their E-mail messages more easily than a hard copy invitation.

♦ Give people lots of lead-time and re-minder e-mail a few days before the event is also helpful.

♦ Be prepared to accept that not every-body will RSVP one way or the other.

♦ Give clear information on the location and how to get there. Add a map and a contact phone number for people who get lost on route. What seems very familiar to you may not be so for your guests.

♦ Choose a location close to public trans-portation expands your guest list.

♦ Mix up the guest list. Invite people outside your circle. Ask friends to bring someone they think would be interested.

♦ Invite new voices to tell. ♦ Invite other tellers to co-host with

you. I had the help of Anna Kerz, Goldie Spencer, Laurie Malabar and my family. Many hands make light the work.

♦ Choose a theme to set the tone: Christmas, Valentine, Halloween, picnic on the deck.

♦ Provide a purpose: e.g. an opportunity to meet an out of town teller or to raise money for a charity.

♦ Consider a mixed group of young and old.

♦ Have a pot luck: ask your guests to bring something to the table that has a story such as Grandmother’s cookies or Dad’s stew.

♦ Mix songs and stories: Invite ballad-eers and musician as well as tellers.

Storytelling House Concerts


Bay). I flew to Whitehorse, but after that travelled by bus and stayed at B&B’s or hotels. I spent time in Whitehorse and Dawson City, made my way up to Inuvik, and to “the end of the road” at a spot outside of town where the only road north comes to its end. The weather cleared and I was able to fly to Tuktoyaktuk and walk out into the Arctic waters of the Beau-fort Sea. I travelled back down through the wilderness on the Dempster Highway, took a side trip to Skagway before heading south to Vancouver. I went over to Courtenay before turning to head back east, with stops along the way. From Winnipeg I took a side trip north to Thompson, then, having run out of time, flew home from Winnipeg. I have since covered the stretch from Winnipeg to Dryden, Ontario, so someday will have to complete the stretch from Dryden to Toronto. And on the east coast, I have yet to visit Newfoundland. It’s a vast land, and there is much yet to see as the rest of the world also beckons.” This is JUNE BROWN’S first year on the Board and her goal is to make a difference in the area of membership. “My husband Alex and I have been to-gether for 49 years. We have 4 grown chil-dren and 6 grandchildren. We have lived in the same house and in the same North York Neighbourhood for 37 years. We own our own business Integrated Appliances Inc. As a Rotarian family, we travelled extensively to International Conventions and hosted guests from around the world.” “I belong to the University Women's Club of North York and The Choralairs (a community choir who meet weekly and do a monthly concert at seniors' residences in the North area of Toronto). I work one morning a week in our local school teaching ESL students and do several storytelling days at this school throughout the year. I enjoy walking, gardening, reading, movies, theatre and bridge.” “I have always had a passion for chil-dren especially pre-school and primary. I studied ECE at Seneca College and have a BA from York University. I ran my own day-

care and children's camp. As a professional and a volunteer I have worked in many in-teresting areas, nursery schools, ESL, the North York Women's Centre, Sick Kid's Hospital, The Children's Aid Society, Scouts, libraries, parent education pro-grams, and life skills coaching. I am a mem-ber of Storytellers of Canada, The Story Jam Co-op, The Canadian Association of Children's Storytellers, and An Armful of Stories.” DAVID GLADSTONE has brought a wealth of experience to the Board for 4 years now. “I have had a very long interest in sto-rytelling that began when I was teach-ing. Some years after I retired, Lorne Brown offered me the chance to join the Board so I did.”

“My life is divided into two main areas: family and education. In addition to being a husband and father, my life has been spent in education. After 38 years with the Toronto Dis-trict School Board I re-tired and then worked as a principal for a private school.” “Later, I volunteered for a charity that focused on integrating new Canadians into the school system and helping children in refugee camps in various countries. My wife and I spent a wonder-ful year in Japan teaching

English.” “At present I am also a member of a board (Friends of Community Schools) that raises money for inner-city schools, sends children to summer camps and supports gay students. During the summers I spend my time on the golf course, traveling or enjoying the arts.” Having been a member of the organization for decades PAUL ROBERT joined the board three years ago. “Someone asked me if I would be inter-ested in helping out when I retired and so I said ‘Ok,’ not knowing how complex the task would be. There are many aspects to being on the board of Storytelling Toronto.” “I am a retired teacher of Drama, Film, and History, for the Toronto Board of Edu-cation. When I’m not sailing I take in film, theatre, and storytelling events. I am in-terested in politics, and I enjoy history as well as what I call the Canadian identity.” Our longest dedicated board member HILDY STOLLERY has been associated with the group for thirty-two years and has served faithfully on the board for five. “I am passionate about the mission of Storytelling Toronto and I enjoy the human and material resources connected with the organization. Where else could you gather and count as friends a roomful of trouba-dours, travelers, and verbal trapeze artists all of whom know how to make something out of nothing - well almost nothing.”



June Brown

David Gladstone


“I find the variety of people connected to Storytelling Toronto astonishing. I know of no other group like it in its diversity, yet it has a common focus on stories - living dynamic stories which speak eloquently to our need to be constantly listening, learn-ing, moving, adapting and changing with our times.” “I am part of a New Canadian family originating from the North Sea area of the Netherlands. I grew up in Walkerton and came to Toronto when I was 17. My travels have taken me across all regions of Canada and USA; Venezuela; Curacao; England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales; throughout Western Europe, and pockets of Eastern Europe; and into Lebanon, Turkey, Syria, and Israel.” “Eleven years ago I joined a group of storytelling friends in Toronto to create the Canadian Association of Storytellers for Children. Lately, I have enjoyed forays into children's book writing, and collabora-tion with Shadowland Theatre as well as theatre script writing for Suitcase Thea-tre (The House That Jack Built) and I've been a Teacher-Educator at U of T for 36 years.” MOLLY SUTKAITIS brings a wealth of joy and storytelling enthusiasm to the board for three years running. “I took up storytelling, as a hobby, seven years ago. I started because I had been asked to bring something of myself to

a solstice celebration. I told how my mater-nal grandfather taught me to look into the flames in the fire that heated the living room in his apart-ment, see the characters arise from those flames. I also used to tell sto-ries to my younger sister and brother. I am a mum and told stories to my daughter when she was a child. As a teacher I told

stories to my Junior Kindergarten and Sen-ior Kindergarten classes.” “I tell stories now when I supply teach in English as a Second Language in Adult Education. I am a Narrative Guide at the Grange in The AGO. As well, I am the sto-ryteller in residence at The Children's Peace Theatre, out of which I developed The Harmony Project.” “I love to travel. My brother lives on a small island in The Channel Islands and to-

gether with my sister-in-law we saw a good bit of Canada and the USA. I have been to New Zealand and the Philippines, and I plan on going to Russia later this year to cruise up the Volga from Moscow to St Peters-burg.” Our newest board member is TASLEEM THAWAR. Tasleem was voted in at the AGM this past October. “I have always been interested in sto-ries and storytelling, and I thought that volunteering for the organization would be a good way to learn more. I also thought that my skills and experience would allow me to contribute to the organization.” “I'm a fiction writer who also does pol-icy consulting with government. I've lived and worked in Japan, India, England and Tanzania, and am passionate about music.” When asked about their particular con-cerns for the future of Storytelling To-ronto most felt that increasing our mem-bership was a top priority. KAREN BLAIR: Although Storytelling To-ronto has been around for thirty-some years, it is still a growing organization, re-quiring increased time and resources. It’s always a bit of a challenge, but this board, and future boards, will continue to make



Hildy Stollery

Paul Robert


A review by Anna Kerz In A Piece of Forever by Laurel Dee Gugler, Rose, a young Mennonite girl, struggles to understand some truly difficult issues: peace, war, honour, love of country, and respect for the people who gave their lives dur-ing wars that her own commu-nity could not support. Rose gains a better understanding of the effects of war as she learns the true story of Sadako, who died of ra-diation as a result of the Hiroshima bomb, and as she corresponds with a local vet-eran. With the veteran’s help and her own ‘spunky’ nature, she finds the courage to share her learning during the school’s Re-membrance Day assembly. A Piece of Forever is a clean, tight story that is thought-provoking and tugs at the heart strings. It’s written in the lyri-

cal language that is so typical of Laurel Dee Gugler’s style, and is the kind of book teachers will be happy to use in the classroom because it lays out difficult is-sues for young readers without being overwhelming. This novel is a sequel to Catching Forever in which Rose is first introduced. Both books are junior novels, aimed at readers from ages 6-10. They are pub-

lished by James Lorimer & Company Ltd., and are available for $8.95 at a book store near you. New Publications from the Foreman Art Gallery of Bishop's University L O R E: Duane Linklater, Tania Willard, Jason Lujan Catalogue of an exhibition held at Gallery 101, Ottawa, Ont., Sept. 5 – Oct. 4, 2008 and at

the Foreman Art Gallery of Bishop's Univer-sity, Sherbrooke, Québec, May 9 – July 4, 2009. Essay: Ryan Rice Foreword by Vicky Chainey Gagnon and Leanne L'Hirondelle The exhibition LORE, curated by Ryan Rice, features the work of artists Duane Linklater, Jason Lujan, and Tania Willard. The importance of this exhibition lies in the tracing of oral tradition as a living, changing entity that incorporates new ele-ments such as video, written text and visual images. The work on view strongly repre-sents each, in individual ways, practices that criticize, manipulate, and re-consider traditions of storytelling from a First Na-tions perspective. Through each artwork we better understand points of view that have been shaped by colonialism and cultural beliefs. Rice's thoughtful essay analyses how seemingly innocuous stories. Distribution: ABC Art Books Canada www.ABCartbookscanada.com

BOOK NOOK JUNIOR

the steps, small and large, that will lead us there. JUNE BROWN: My concern for Storytel-ling Toronto has to do with member-

ship. How do we attract new members and give value to the ones we have? How do we expand the demographics of our member-ship to reflex the Toronto GTA and how do we nurture the new emerging teller? DAVID GLADSTONE: My concern for Sto-rytelling Toronto is about the member-ship. I think Storytelling Toronto has to come up with a variety of new ways to at-tract new members. I have one sugges-tion: let's develop a plan to invite Toronto schools to join. Membership would have its privileges. PAUL ROBERT: My main concern is to get more people listening!! By this I mean how we can promote Storytelling Toronto and encourage audience development. HILDY STOLLERY: I really wanted to par-ticipate in helping relocate ST to a more permanent home for many years and that step has finally been taken - to the GREEN ARTS BARNS -- WOWEE! It is my burn-ing desire to create an accessible and or-derly archive for Storytelling Toronto, one that reveals our ‘hiSTORY’. I think if we and others in the future know our past it might help with our future directions.

TASLEEM THAWAR: I am particularly in-terested in increasing and diversifying Sto-rytelling Toronto's membership. I would like to see storytellers of all ages and from different parts of Toronto both telling stories and listening to them.


Tasleem Thawar

Molly Sutkaitis


Book nook

A review by Robert Rodriquez. The Arabian Nights, A Companion, Robert Irwin, Penguin Press, London and New York, First published in 1994, reissued in 2007, pp.−344., ISBN−0-713-99105-4. In the introduction to his study of the corpus of tales called in Arabic Alf Layla Wa Layla, One Thousand and One Nights, or as it became known in England, the Ara-bian Nights’ Entertainments, Robert Irwin notes that, ever since Antoine Galland’s translation of the Nights into French in 1704−17, there has been an ongoing love affair and fascination with this extraordi-nary compendium of stories and with orien-tal literature and fiction in general in Europe, Britain and North America which still resonates even into the twenty-first century. In contrast, as Irwin points out, the status of the Nights in the Middle East, particularly as it pertains to Arabic and Islamic literature, has been somewhere on the lower end of the literary totem pole, fit as one scholar put it only for the harem, nursery, coffee house, and street corner or marketplace where Arabic storytellers have been plying their trade for centuries. But for any serious student of the Nights, devotee of these timeless and en-chanting tales, or lover of the fantastic and marvelous world in which these stories exist, Irwin’s intriguing, scholarly, and worthwhile study of this body of stories is an absolute must and belongs in the library of any true story lover and story explorer. Irwin first begins his exploration of the Nights with a history of the publication of the Thousand and One Nights, starting with the Galland translation into French and how that translation came about, and then gives a history of subsequent transla-tions into other languages in Europe, as well as translations into English beginning with a 1708 Chap Book version of Aladdin and con-tinuing throughout the eighteenth and nine-teenth centuries, culminating with the monumental sixteen-volume translation into English in 1885−8 by the world traveler, explorer, diplomat, and linguist extraordi-naire, Sir Richard Burton. With all its flaws, language difficulties, and deficien-cies, the Burton translation still ranks as

one of the great accom-plishments of modern lit-erature and a true high point of the Victorian lit-erary age. Irwin then proceeds to a detailed discussion of the actual origin of the Nights, its authorship or lack thereof, and the ear-lier influences on the Nights from pre-Islamic, Persian, and Indian liter-ary sources and whether the lost Persian manu-script of the ninth cen-tury known as the Hazar Afsana, One Thousand Tales, might indeed have been the original prototype for what later became known as the Thousand and One Nights as we know it today. One aspect of Irwin’s study of the Nights that will be of particular interest to storytelling devotees, especially those with an interest in the phenomenon of the frame tale, is the chapter in which stories from the Nights are compared to similar tales found in other collections of stories throughout the world, ranging the land-scape from Britain through Europe and as far east as India. Such European collec-tions include Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, the Gesta Romanorum, Bocaccio’s Decam-eron, Basile’s Tale of Tales, and Petrus Alfonsi’s Disciplina Clericalis, while the eastern collections would include the Indian Pancha Tantra or Five Lessons of Princely Instruction, the Kath Sarrit Segara or Ocean of Story, the Suka Saptati or Sev-enty Tales of a Parrot, the Fables of Bidpei also known as Kalila Wa Dimna, the Persian-based Book of Marzuban, and the Book of Sindibad which would eventually morph into its European counterpart, the Seven Wise Masters. Irwin then looks at the history and role of storytelling in Arabic and Islamic tradi-tion and how it influenced and was in turn influenced by the popularity of stories within the Nights landscape. Other sub-jects dealt with by Irwin include: trick-sters, criminals, thieves and street persons

as represented by their tales found in the Nights, sexual fictions and the role of women also described in the Nights’ tales involving all man-ner of female characters from rulers and courtesans to prostitutes, con artists, and cunning narrators such as Sheherezhad herself, the very universe of fantastic marvels and manifestations of magic, the supernatural, and incredible creatures of all sorts and types, ranging from djinns and ghouls to malevo-lent magicians, fantastic

birds and sea creatures, and even flying horses, and this is but the merest tip of the narrative iceberg where the Nights are concerned. Even the rise of folklore studies in the nineteenth century, according to Irwin, was impacted to a great degree by ongoing scholarship of the literature of the Nights. The link between European folklore and earlier eastern sources was intensely stud-ied and researched heavily by literary scholars from Britain to India itself. Ir-win’s final chapter deals with the impact of the Nights upon writers of oriental fiction from the late eighteenth to the late twen-tieth centuries, including such writers as William Beckford, George Meredith, Jan Potocki, Herman Melville, Washington Ir-ving, and such twentieth century authors as James Joyce, Jorge Luis Borges and John Barth. Even today the Arabian Nights Enter-tainments still hold a fascination with folks around the world, whether through books, film adaptations, music, theatrical drama, or art and architecture. Robert Irwin’s entertaining and educational study of the Nights brings these timeless and enchant-ing stories once more to life, and its read-ing is a true must for any serious Nights devotee and enthusiast. This volume comes very highly recommended. To sum it all up, there is a Middle Eastern proverb and su-perstition which states “Read the Arabian Nights and die.”

The Arabian Nights - A Companion


Recently Dan Yashinsky received a Chalmers Arts Fellowship. Dan sends this message to Pippin: During my Chalmers Arts Fellowship, I hope to talk to storytellers around the world about how they are creating new stories, and if they believe new oral narrative traditions may be in the process of evolving. Among others, I want to interview Louis Bird (Canada), Regina Machado (Brazil), Bruno de la Salle (France), Gidon Horowitz (Germany), Regina Sommer (Germany), Ben Haggarty (England), Hugh Lupton (England), Kay Stone (Canada). As my questions and research themes take shape, I'll probably expand the circle of storytellers, folklorists, philosophers, poets, and traditional myth-keepers that I'm talking to. I've proposed a three-part series to CBC Radio's Ideas program based on the work I'll be doing over the coming year. It's nice to have time away from my day job as Community Arts grants officer at Toronto Arts Council, where, for the last seven years, I've done storytelling on my off-hours. I'm hoping this project on new myth will coalesce over the next month or two. At this point, I'm still trying to catch up to myself: rehearsing a new story, doing some long-postponed book promotion, and gathering ideas.

Congratulations Dan! Ron Baker, Storyteller Alberta CCBC Tour 2008 It was an exciting, very busy week. Nearly all my stories were from children’s books, the majority of them Canadian. I carried copies of the books with me and after each telling I introduced the children to the book. A storyteller was a new ex-perience for most of the children. They had books read to them but they were now being told a story. One girl asked, “How do you read a story without a book?” Another small boy, after listening to a story, said, “Tell us a real story!” “Wasn’t that a real story?” I asked. “No”, he replied, and pointed to my books. “Those are real sto-ries!” I showed him the book of the story

I had just told and said that the story came out of that book. He didn’t look convinced. Since I was willing to tell to all grades, some schools took full advan-tage. Up to 300 chil-dren from K – Grade 6 seated on the floor of the gym presented a challenge! I told about going out one moonlit winter night on the Bruce Peninsula with my grandchildren, and calling the wolves. I howled like a wolf and told the poignant story of the Last Wolf by Ann

Turnbull. Then I invited everyone to a Grand Howl. (And could they howl!) With small classes of older children I was able to use quieter and more meditative stories. I enjoyed visiting First Nations Schools at Trout Lake and Loon River. The children, who were mostly Cree, were very attentive. I was impressed with their listening skills, especially the seniors. Rarely have I had such enthusiastic listeners; it gave me hope that the native oral tradition is still strong. During the week I told over 120 stories in 18 locations to nearly 2,000 children. They seemed to enjoy it as much as I did. I expected to be exhausted by the end of the tour but the children and the stories energized me and I felt that the whole experience was a gift. I hope I can unwrap it again.

Chalmers Arts Fellowship Awarded to Dan Yashinsky

Lynda Howes has been working on “First Steps Into the Art of Storytelling” in Korea. Pippin hopes to get a report from Lynda when she returns.

STORYTELLING IN

KOREA

Right: Lynda Howes in Korea


Yassmin in India

Submitted by Heather Whaley Yasmin Siddiqui is a new ST (Ontario Directory) member and a Durham Folklore Society member. She is currently travelling and touring abroad and most recently pre-sented her storytelling programs at the Storytelling Festival in New Delhi, the capi-tal of India. The festival was a part of Na-tional Book Week and it looked at storytel-ling through folk art, music, illustration and humor. Yasmin reports that the audiences are very inter-active. She later met up with other tellers for an informal swap, “The company was enjoyable and food - just out of the world.”As well Yasmin took part in a storytelling event held at Kasu Brahman-anda Reddy National Park, Hyderabad in

India. Besides being a conservation area, the park has developed into a prominent Environmental Education Cen-ter. “The park houses some historic monuments like the Chiran palace of the former Nizam of Hyderabad and oth-ers. Regular nature camps are conducted for school children for spreading environmental awareness among the citizens.” Later Yasmin went on to tell stories for '.Khoj', an or-ganization catering to little children who work very hard begging on the streets of Delhi. From there she told at the Institute of Social Ser-

vices where she used inspirational stories for an audience of just women.

YASMIN SIDDIQUI TAKES STORIES TO INDIA

Despite some set backs, such as the lack of telephone service, our office is coming along nicely. Thanks to Jody for her patience and hard work. Also, thank you David Gladstone’s for the delightful photographs of this memorable time.

ARTSCAPE WYCHWOOD BARNS After the official opening of the Artscape Wychwood Barns on November 20, 2008 many events have taken place including a celebration of Storytelling Toronto on January 24 and Stone Soup on February 07.


The legendary Ottawa coffee house Rasputin’s Café suffered a fire in 2008; unlike a phoenix, it flies no more.

Located in the Glebe, Rasputin’s was founded in the long tradition of Ottawa coffee houses. The site, 696 Bronson Avenue, had been a health food restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, and a grocery store. It was just around the corner from my Uncle Bill Henry’s house at 213 Carling Avenue, now Glebe Avenue, which I used to visit every summer as a child. The area received its name because, in 1837, it was the church land or glebe of St Andrew’s Presbyte-rian Church. Bronson forms its western boundary, the Rideau Canal its eastern and southern boundary, and the Queensway its northern boundary. It is a resi-dential area close to downtown Ottawa, which contributed to the success of Rasputin’s. Dean Verger had an arts and business background; his mother ran a restaurant in Ottawa. In his early twenties he got involved in the Ottawa theatre scene and opened Rasputin’s in 1981 as a restaurant which did a brisk breakfast and lunch business. In the evening, perhaps not surpris-ingly, arts people frequented the Café. Patrons pinned their art on the cork walls. One artist de-signed Rasputin’s logo. Dean played violin, clarinet and guitar, and jam sessions became popular with local musicians. Ad-mission after dinner was free. A 4-foot by 4-foot stage was put in the middle of the restaurant, covered by a carpet of cowhide. Beside Rasputin’s was the Ottawa Folk Club, which kindly lent spot-lights and microphones, etc. A young Bruce Cockburn donated Standel speakers. Eventually, in 1988, admission was charged for these evening sessions. Dean told his musicians, “Now you are profes-sional!” The list of musicians who have per-formed in Rasputin’s is huge, and includes

Loreena McKennit, Fred Eaglesmith, Rick Fielding, Grit Laskin, Eve Goldberg, Blue Rodeo, Finest Kind, Tom Lips, Tanglefoot, and so many more. Ian Tamblyn was the first to perform for a “paid” audience.

Verger was interested in expanding the concept of Rasputin’s to include other kinds of artists such as poets and visual artists. The precursor of the Ottawa Storytellers started telling stories in Rasputin’s, people such as Donna and Ruth Stewart, Jan An-drews and Jennifer Cayley. Eventually a

storytelling night was agreed upon and a series of epic storytelling began in Rasputin’s. Many Canadian tellers have told at Rasputin’s, including your humble author. Romance entered the picture; Dean

Verger met Ruth Stewart and the two eventually married in Dean’s house! Running Rasputin’s was a labour of love – 16-hour days, cooking meals in the kitchen and organizing events and keeping the Café in good re-pair. A skill that Verger has is his introductions of the per-formers. He stressed that Rasputin’s was putting on con-certs and was not a bar where entertainment happened as an afterthought to drinking and socializing. His introductions set the scene for the artist, and audiences loved the inti-macy of the setting. Shortly after midnight on July 5, 2008, a fire broke out in three spots in the rear of and above Rasputin’s. The fire, which appears to have been deliberately set, caused extensive damage. Ruth Stew-art Verger was attending the Storytellers of Canada/Conteurs du Canada (SC-CC) Conference in Saskatoon at the time, and was unaware of this tragic turn of events. Rasputin’s was no more. But Dean and Ruth are creative people, and the Rasputin’s concept continues. For example, all performers who lost their gigs due to the fire were given an opportunity to perform in another venue. Ruth is spearheading the con-cept of house concerts, both

for SC-CC and in general. Dean is pursuing his PhD in cognitive psychology. Rasputin’s is gone but art lives on. “People have moved this act somewhere else,” Dean told me, “I have moved on, it’s a wonderful life. Don’t stop being creative!” Words to live by.

In Memoriam: Rasputin’s Café 1981-2008


The December Legless Stocking theme was SONGS AND TALES FOR THE SOL-STACE featuring Meryl Arbing, Joanne Crabtree, Jennifer Edwards, Glenna Janzen, Karen Kaplan and Carol Leigh Wehking. Heather Whaley presented a LITERA-TURE and DRAMA WORKSHOP on Janu-ary 10 at the Early Careers Training Centre in Scarborough on January 10 Storytelling took to the stages at the Win-terfolk Blues and Roots Festival on Sun-day February 15. Tellers Heather Whaley, Marylyn Peringer, Phyllis Walker, Dan Yashinsky and Bruce Carmody told at the Willow Café. Throughout February Phyllis Walker per-formed Keeper of the Anansi Flame at the Royal Ontario Museum as a celebration

of Black History Month. This February Deborah Dunleavy pre-sented her storytelling programs at schools in Toronto, Claremont and Brampton. Deb-orah was a featured pre-senter at the Reading For The Love of It conference held in Toronto. Dan Yashinsky lectured, told stories and lead dis-cussions at the University of Waterloo Integrated Knowledge Program on Feb 26 Hildy Stollery presented PERSONAL STORIES and FOLKTALE MERGERS for

the Durham Folklore Society on February 28. BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT: Taliesen Ayiish Cavanagh Windstorm was born this past Fall (Sept. 21) to J’net and

chris Cavanagh. A sto-ried name for a boy born to a storied family. Taliesen is a fifth Cen-tury Welsh Bard and druid (by some ac-counts) named in the Mabinogion and reput-edly having served in the court of King Ar-thur amongst other accomplishments; “Ayiish” is Nuu chah nulth (J’net’s culture) for equinox.

A Book of Spells interweaves poetry, lit-erary stories of magic realism and stories of personal experience. The poetry is taken from Gardens of Eden by Michelene Wan-dor; the stories of magic realism from a collection of short stories by author Sara Maitland (a collection which also provides the title for T.W.P.show). The tone is fierce, the content edgy and disturbing, lush, soothing, and finally, filled with de-light. The show is a story of many, many sto-ries. Listeners find themselves confronted with the witch in Hansel and Gretel – still living in the forest; still, through all the ages (surprisingly) tending to young women’s needs. Then there’s the mother who gains the power (quite literally) to soar through the nighttime; the two old women, tending their garden – and their broom-sticks – in their cottage at the end of the road. Above all, there are the two tell-ers, struggling to build a life together, seeing themselves reflected in what they are reading, desperate to put their demons to rest and

find peace. Launched at the National Storytelling Network Fringe Festival, St. Louis, 2007, and heading for the Gwanwyn Festival in Wales in May, A Book of Spells is a new venture both in terms of the world of sto-rytelling and of its creators. “A Book of Spells is a brilliant mar-riage of literary story and personal narra-tive. The sum is greater than the parts,” Elizabeth Ellis award winning storyteller. In February A Book of Spells toured to London, Kitchener, Kingston, Toronto, Peterborough and Port Hope. Upcoming performances include: HILLSBURGH March 1 - Century Church Theatre, 3 Hill Street, Trafalgar Rd. and Station St., Hillsburgh, ON. 2.30

p.m. $20.00 Tickets can be purchased through the Box Office on Visa until Feb. 16. Phone: 519 855 4586, daily 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. After that, tickets will be available at Erin Library and Hillsburgh Library or at the door (cash only). www.centurychurchtheatre.com PERTH - March 7 - Perth Thea-tre Project, 63 Gore Street East,

Perth, ON. 8 p.m. $20 OTTAWA - April 16 - Ottawa Storytell-ers, Fourth Stage, National Arts Centre. 7.30 p.m.$15 Tickets can be purchased at the NAC Box Office or Ticketmaster (613) 755-1111

STORIES GOING ‘ROUND

Two Women Productions Presents:

A Book of Spells with Jan Andrews & Jennifer Cayley


The Canadian Association of Storytellers for Children (CASC) presents its Saturday afternoon Family Storytelling concert series on February 28, April 25 and May 30, 1:30-2:30pm. Ralph Thornton Community Centre, 765 Queen St. E., Toronto. Admission: $5 per person or pwyc. Info: www.storytellersforchildren.ca St. Marys Storytelling Winter Performance series continues on Sunday, March 8, 2pm with Mary-Eileen McClear telling "In Her Own Words: The Loves and Adventures of an Irish Girl". OnSaturday , April 18, 7pm, Susan Charters and Paul Court tell "Blood and Fire: TheDonnelly Project". Both presen-tations are at St.Marys United Church, 85 Church St. S. Admission $15. Info and res-ervations: Nancy Vermond, (519) 284-2698. Ruth Danziger tells stories for International Women's Day at the Textile Museum of Can-ada,55 Centre Avenue, Toronto, on Sunday March 8, 1:00pm. Suitable for adults and older children. Free with admission. Info: (416) 599-5321. The House That Jack Built, a 50-minute adapted by storyteller Hildy Stollery from the familiar nursery rhyme, is offered daily

GATHERINGS

PERFORMANCES

The Peterborough Storytellers meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month, 7-9pm in the auditorium of the Peterborough Public Library. Info: Diana, (705) 755-0201. 1,001 Friday Nights of Storytelling con-tinues every Friday evening at 8pm at the Innis College Café, Sussex Ave. and St.George St., Toronto. Suggested donation $5. Open to all who wish to listen or tell. (416) 656-2445 www.1001fridays.org Baden Second Story Workshop, aka The Story Barn, meets the first Friday of the month at 8:00pm, 89 Snyders Rd.W. Info: Mary-Eileen McClear, [email protected] Storytelling Guild meets in Baden once a month on the third Friday, 7:30-10pm. 89 Snyders Rd W. Info: Mary-Eileen McClear, [email protected] The Dufferin Circle of Storytellers meets the 1st Thursday of the month, 7:30pm. Info: Nancy Woods, (519)925-0966. The Brant Taletellers Guild, open to all storytellers and listeners, meets the first Wednesday of the month, September to June, 7pm, at the main branch of the Brant-ford Public Library. Info: www.comdir.bfree.on.ca , email [email protected] or phone Barbara Sisson, (519) 756-0727 The 1000 Islands Yarnspinners meet the third Monday of the month at 7pm at the Brockville Museum, 5 Henry Street in down-town historical Brockville. March 16: Music to the Ears, April 20: Fool’s Paradise, May 18: Fairies, Gnomes and Little People, June 15: It’s a Bug’s Life. Contact Deborah Dunleavy (613) 342-3463 or [email protected] St. Mary’s Storytelling Guild meets the fourth Thursday of the month at the public library, 7-8:30pm. The Storytelling Circle for children 10 and older meets on the sec-ond Friday at St. Mary’ United Church, 85 Church St., 7-9pm. $2. Info: Nancy Ver-mond, (519) 284-2698, [email protected] The Durham Folklore Society meets every third Thursday, 7:30-9:30pm at the Oak

As I Roved Out: Ballads and the Art of Storytelling, led by Lorne Brown. Participants will work closely with an experienced story-teller and balladeer, studying the old ballads both live and on recordings. Each registrant will present a ballad, either sung, recited or in story form and will receive three uniquely prepared CDs containing at least 60 tradi-tional ballads. Singingability is not a prerequi-site. Wednesdays, April 8 - May 6, at Lorne's home. Fee: $200. Storytelling I - First Steps into the Art of Storytelling, led by Lynda Howes. A weekend designed for newcomers to the art, focusing on traditional stories such as folktale, myth and legend. Friday, May 8, 7-10pm; Saturday and Sunday, May 9 and 10, 10am-4:30pm. At North York Central Library, 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto. Fee: $232. Storytelling II - Broadening Your Reper-toire, led by Mariella Bertelli, is a two-day course which offers tools for finding new sto-ries and extending one's repertoire. This year the course will focus on sources of material presented at the 2009 Toronto Festival of Storytelling. At course's end, Mariella hosts a


Listings — Winter / Spring 2009 Room, Northview Community Centre, 150 Beatrice St. E., Oshawa. Info: Dianne Chan-dler, (905) 985-3424. Cercle de conteurs de l’Est de l’Ontario (CCEO) se réunit le 4ème mardi du mois au MIFO, 6600 rue Carrière, Orléans, à juin. Venez tout simplement entendre et savourer; osez conter, si vous désirez. Info: [email protected] The Hamilton Storytelling Circle meets monthly, at varied times and locations. Info: Barry Rosen, [email protected] or [email protected] The Guelph Guild of Storytellers meets the first Wednesday of each month, 7:30pm at the Cooperators Building, MacDonnel St., and the second Wednesday at 8pm for Stories at the Boathouse, a tea room on the river, Gordon St. Info: Ann, (519) 763-4598. The Montreal Storytellers Guild meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at the West-mount Library. Info: Christine Mayr, [email protected]

STORYTELLING TORONTO

Info: (416) 656-2445 www.storytellingtoronto.org, [email protected]

during March Break (March 16-21) at 3pm. Church of the Redeemer, 162 Bloor St. West. Admission $20/12, $10 each for 3 or more children. Info: (416) 913-3992, [email protected] Carol Leigh Wehking and Glenna Janzen celebrate World Storytelling Day in Cam-bridge, ON with a storytelling concert over dinner. Proceeds support a storytelling fes-tival in Nairobi, Kenya, to bring the arts to families affected by AIDS. Friday, March 20, 7-9pm at O'Keefe Cottage, 93 Grand Avenue S., Cambridge. Concert $10; dinner separate. Info: [email protected] Bruce Carmody and Jeffrey Canton reprise their Fabled City performance of "The Truth About Navy Island" as part of To-ronto's LitCity 2009. Saturday, May 2, Gib-son House Museum. Info and tickets: (416) 395-7432.


Every Friday night since 1978 sto-rytellers and listeners have been

gathering in downtown To-ronto. Each evening is hosted by an accomplished storyteller. Any-

one is welcome to tell a story.

Every Friday night is unique. Suggested donation: $5.00 Time: 8:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.

Innis College Café

2 Sussex Street, Toronto. (corner St. George, one block south of Bloor St. W.

St. George Subway - St. George St. exit)

www.1001fridays.org

T he Story te lle rs Sch oo l of Toron to g ra te fu lly acknowledge s th e support o f the fo llowing g ove rnm en t a gencies:

YOU ARE THE NEWS! CELEBRATE YOUR STORYTELLING ADVENTURES NEXT DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION FOR PIPPIN Submissions should be sent as an attachment in Microsoft Word. Deadlines: May 01 for the summer edition; August 01 for the autumn. Send to [email protected]

St Marys is going green this year with a special themed FROG FESTIVAL. That’s right all the stories, music, and hands-on activities will be about the illustrious croakers and hoppers. The organizers have moved their dates to June 5th and 6th mak-ing it a two day rather than a three day event. Their goal is to get more families and schools involved. For more information contact Nancy Vermond at (519) 284-2698 or [email protected].

FOS – FESTIVAL OF STORYTELLING takes place in historic downtown Brockville on September 25 & 26. There’s a school performance of ANANSI – SPIDERMAN OF AFRICA by Vermont’s Crabgrass Puppet Theatre. Featured tellers are ADWOA BADOE and MARY-EILEEN McCLEAR. For teenagers there is a storytelling event on the Friday night - KISS OF THE VAMPIRE & Other Bloody Tales. For more informa-tion contact Deborah Dunleavy at (613) 342-3463 or [email protected].

FESTIVALS IN THE WORKS

get-together to reunite the class and share more stories. Saturday, April 18, 10am-noon and 1:30-4:30pm; and Sunday, April 19, 2-4pm, at Lillian H. Smith Public Library, 239 College Street, Toronto. Fee: $135. A Weekend East of the Sun, led by Mi-chelle Tocher. Michelle leads participants into an in-depth exploration of The Iron Stove, a Grimm Brothers' version of East of the Sun and West of the Moon. Saturday and Sunday, April 25 and 26, 1 - 4pm, at Lillian H. Smith Public Library, 239 College Street, Toronto. Fee: $120.

STORYTELLING TORONTO

Three tellers will be touring this year to rural communities. This February and March Deborah Dunleavy travels to the Renfrew County Catholic School Board. In April Bruce Carmody takes his storytelling programs to the Rainbow District School Board. The Avon Maitland District School Board plays host to teller Heather Whaley in May.

STORYTELLING IN RURAL COMMUNITIES

introducing storytelling toronto’s board of...

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