Steve Evans

My Professional Storyteller friend LaRon recently shared with me an event that happened in his life. "I performed earlier this week at a school in Detroit," he said. "During lunch, I went with one of the teachers to a McDonald's 'restaurant' not too far from the school. I never eat McDonald's food, so I was just along for the ride and the conversation, but she does, and she ordered her lunch through the bulletproof safety glass that seals off the staff from the customers." He then exclaimed: "Bu… Continue

For a word, there is no meaning outside of context. In a way, that is also true for stories. Consider an iceberg. When we tell or hear a story, all that is understood about that story is the tip of the iceberg seen above the waterline, unless we also know all of the context that is hidden below! When we know the context, the story often takes on different or fuller meanings or understandings. Often, when we take stories from the more oral cultures to the more literate ones, some subtletie… Continue

“If this is your land, where are your stories?” Edward Chamberlin asked in his book by the same name. This question carries with it the impact of a doubled-edged blade: Not only do the stories of a people define who they are and the space they possess, but the stories of a people are also the tools used to possess that space. There are two African folktales that so poignantly illustrate this. One, The Departure of the Giants, is from the Horn of Africa, while the second, Strength,… Continue

“In his book Culture Jam, Kalle Lasn says, ‘The most powerful narcotic in the world is the promise of belonging,’” said Annette Simmons, author The Story Factor. “To that I would add, the promise of being ‘known’ – not understood, not necessarily even valued – but simply to be acknowledged and seen.” She said that in a technological economy, human attention is the emerging scarce resource. “People need it, crave it, and will pay for it with their cooperation,” she said.

Simmons co… Continue

“Why story and storytelling?” Thomas Boomershine asked in his book Story Journey. “Story is a primary language of experience. Telling and listening to a story has the same structure as our experience,” he said. “The episodes of our lives take place one after another just like a story. One of the ways we know each other is by telling our stories. We live in stories.” He continued: "Storytelling creates community. Persons who tell each other stories become friends. And men and women who kno… Continue