Last night we were delighted to host another terrific audience, 60+ strong,
at the Story Cafe.
We began the evening with Sarah Chouinard, a singer who has graced the Open
Mic for the last three months. Sarah offered two songs from the Celtic Women
group and at my request added Danny Boy. As always, she did not disappoint
with her crystal clear tones.
Another regular shared her original poetry for the first time and Norah's
husband Robert recited a piece as well; the name escapes me at the moment, but
it was grand! I ended the open mic session with the Irish version of One
Wish, based on Liz Weir's tale, but adapted to make it my own.
After a brief intermission Norah Dooley took the stage as our feature and
the audience was transfixed for almost an hour. We were taken away to Ireland
on the wings of story and what an trip it was! Norah delighted the crowd with
tales of the Egg Girl, The Salmon of Knowledge, The Piper and the Mermaid and
more. I was delighted to hear Norah sing in one of her stories. Not only is
her telling voice captivating but that girl can sing! Norah ended with her
own Irish version of Tailypo, which had everyone in the audience JUMP in
unison.
Unfortunately, Norah's harpist, Susan Miron, who was to accompany her was
unable to attend, due to a death in her family. She was greatly missed but of
course the audience understood. We hope to have her come another time.
It was a delightful evening and everyone was enchanted with Norah and her
easy, open style of telling. Well, she makes it look easy but it was very
evident to me that she works very hard at her craft. And the next time you see
Norah, make sure to ask her the story behind her last name; it's a corker!
We hope to see you at Artworks in New Bedford on Saturday, April 4 when Tony
Toledo will fill the room with his energy and stories!
Warm wishes,
Monday, March 16, 2009
Story Café - March 15th - review...
Story Café - March 15th - review...
Last night we were delighted to host another terrific audience, 60+ strong,
at the Story Cafe.
We began the evening with Sarah Chouinard, a singer who has graced the Open
Mic for the last three months. Sarah offered two songs from the Celtic Women
group and at my request added Danny Boy. As always, she did not disappoint
with her crystal clear tones.
Another regular shared her original poetry for the first time and Norah's
husband Robert recited a piece as well; the name escapes me at the moment, but
it was grand! I ended the open mic session with the Irish version of One
Wish, based on Liz Weir's tale, but adapted to make it my own.
After a brief intermission Norah Dooley took the stage as our feature and
the audience was transfixed for almost an hour. We were taken away to Ireland
on the wings of story and what an trip it was! Norah delighted the crowd with
tales of the Egg Girl, The Salmon of Knowledge, The Piper and the Mermaid and
more. I was delighted to hear Norah sing in one of her stories. Not only is
her telling voice captivating but that girl can sing! Norah ended with her
own Irish version of Tailypo, which had everyone in the audience JUMP in
unison.
Unfortunately, Norah's harpist, Susan Miron, who was to accompany her was
unable to attend, due to a death in her family. She was greatly missed but of
course the audience understood. We hope to have her come another time.
It was a delightful evening and everyone was enchanted with Norah and her
easy, open style of telling. Well, she makes it look easy but it was very
evident to me that she works very hard at her craft. And the next time you see
Norah, make sure to ask her the story behind her last name; it's a corker!
We hope to see you at Artworks in New Bedford on Saturday, April 4 when Tony
Toledo will fill the room with his energy and stories!
Warm wishes,
Sunday, March 1, 2009
on myth...
Sources: I used wikipedia and my memory for this...
Myth is a common enough word but what do people mean when they use it ? The word myth is used in many ways, and it doesn't have a single meaning. Mythology (from the Greek μυθολογία , meaning "a story-telling, a legendary lore") refers to folklore, myths, and legends that a particular culture believes to be true and that often use the supernatural to understand natural events and/or to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. The meaning of the word myth has has changed over time. Here are some meanings of the word myth with the date of their entry (e.g. 1830 ) into the dictionary:
1a. "A traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces or creatures, which shows or provides an explanation, or reason for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon", (1830 )
1b. "As a mass noun: such stories collectively or as a genre." (1840)
2a. "A widespread but untrue or story or belief” A lie.” ( 1849)
2b. "A person or thing held in awe or generally referred to with great admiration because of popularly repeated stories (whether real or fictitious)." (1853)
2c. "A popular idea of a person or thing which exaggerates or idealizes the truth." (1928)
When we use the word we will mean “myth” as defined in the first definition above and as a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form. Unlike a folktale, the sacred nature of the basic plot and character elements of a myth cannot be changed.
Mythology or a collection or group of myths comes from the Greek word meaning "a storytelling, a legendary lore1. Legends and legendary lore are stories that have some historical basis and come from historical times. The people of legend may have existed ( Robin Hood and King Arthur are two examples2) and the plot or main character of a legend usually shows some commonly held value that a culture holds dear. Legends may evolve into myth, but the story of a legend usually unfolds in a realistic way even though it may include some magical or supernatural events. Myths, on the other hand, use supernatural beings and forces and are rarely realistic.
A story that is also a myth will be one or more of these things:
1. A story of beginnings; how existence, the world and everything in it came to be. Some myths explain the start of existence on earth and/or human existence– these are creation myths.
2. An explanation of the way things are in nature. Before scientific method and study, people tried to understand how things in nature work. Phenomena3 like thunder, lightning, wind, and rain were important but not understood. People made up myths to explain these and other powerful or quirky forces of nature.
3. Some myths are warnings about how people should behave by showing through story, the consequences of bad behavior of mythological characters like the first humans or gods and goddesses that run amok. Myths like this sometimes claim to relate the reason behind natural disasters like floods, volcanoes and tsunami.
4. Some cultures have myths to show correct human behavior as an explanation for the origins of their social customs and rituals.
5. Many myths show the origin and celebrate the existence of good things like the return of spring, or the goodness of sunlight or the reasons animals and plants grow and provide food.
6. Myths are usually not set in real time – they are said to come from before time or so long, long, long ago, no one remembers that time.
7. Some myths are simply sacred stories about the origin and “life” of gods, and goddesses. Stories about supernatural beings and other religious concepts are all part of a culture’s myths.
Myths are stories shared by a group of people and are an important part of that group's cultural identity Myths are stories told by people about people: they are about where we come from, why we are here, how the natural world came to be and how we cope with that world, and where we are all going.
Myth is a common enough word but what do people mean when they use it ? The word myth is used in many ways, and it doesn't have a single meaning. Mythology (from the Greek μυθολογία , meaning "a story-telling, a legendary lore") refers to folklore, myths, and legends that a particular culture believes to be true and that often use the supernatural to understand natural events and/or to explain the nature of the universe and humanity. The meaning of the word myth has has changed over time. Here are some meanings of the word myth with the date of their entry (e.g. 1830 ) into the dictionary:
1a. "A traditional story, typically involving supernatural beings or forces or creatures, which shows or provides an explanation, or reason for something such as the early history of a society, a religious belief or ritual, or a natural phenomenon", (1830 )
1b. "As a mass noun: such stories collectively or as a genre." (1840)
2a. "A widespread but untrue or story or belief” A lie.” ( 1849)
2b. "A person or thing held in awe or generally referred to with great admiration because of popularly repeated stories (whether real or fictitious)." (1853)
2c. "A popular idea of a person or thing which exaggerates or idealizes the truth." (1928)
When we use the word we will mean “myth” as defined in the first definition above and as a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form. Unlike a folktale, the sacred nature of the basic plot and character elements of a myth cannot be changed.
Mythology or a collection or group of myths comes from the Greek word meaning "a storytelling, a legendary lore1. Legends and legendary lore are stories that have some historical basis and come from historical times. The people of legend may have existed ( Robin Hood and King Arthur are two examples2) and the plot or main character of a legend usually shows some commonly held value that a culture holds dear. Legends may evolve into myth, but the story of a legend usually unfolds in a realistic way even though it may include some magical or supernatural events. Myths, on the other hand, use supernatural beings and forces and are rarely realistic.
A story that is also a myth will be one or more of these things:
1. A story of beginnings; how existence, the world and everything in it came to be. Some myths explain the start of existence on earth and/or human existence– these are creation myths.
2. An explanation of the way things are in nature. Before scientific method and study, people tried to understand how things in nature work. Phenomena3 like thunder, lightning, wind, and rain were important but not understood. People made up myths to explain these and other powerful or quirky forces of nature.
3. Some myths are warnings about how people should behave by showing through story, the consequences of bad behavior of mythological characters like the first humans or gods and goddesses that run amok. Myths like this sometimes claim to relate the reason behind natural disasters like floods, volcanoes and tsunami.
4. Some cultures have myths to show correct human behavior as an explanation for the origins of their social customs and rituals.
5. Many myths show the origin and celebrate the existence of good things like the return of spring, or the goodness of sunlight or the reasons animals and plants grow and provide food.
6. Myths are usually not set in real time – they are said to come from before time or so long, long, long ago, no one remembers that time.
7. Some myths are simply sacred stories about the origin and “life” of gods, and goddesses. Stories about supernatural beings and other religious concepts are all part of a culture’s myths.
Myths are stories shared by a group of people and are an important part of that group's cultural identity Myths are stories told by people about people: they are about where we come from, why we are here, how the natural world came to be and how we cope with that world, and where we are all going.
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