Shared Gypsy proverb 

            (from Meg Gilman)

We are all wanderers on this earth. 

Our hearts are full of wonder, and 

our souls are deep with dreams

Calendar:    

    Sizzlin' Summer Storytelling

                                                                The summer was a whirlwind of storytelling. Thanks to everyone who had Taleypo for a visit. It was the busiest,  most exciting summer ever!

Now, it's a quiet time. There are very few jobs in the near future, but I have come to accept that as my fertile time. Time to reflect, to rejuvenate and to create. I'm already thinking about next summer's library theme and programs I can offer.

I will also be in a readers' theatre group again this year with Dr. Jack Stokes. He was my first mentor in my journey as a storyteller. We had a group in college called Drama Choir and it single-handedly was most instrumental in shaping me into a storyteller. To read more about that click HERE. (as an added bonus you will discover the truth behind....Tailypoooo!)

While I taught school at St. Clare's in O'Fallon, IL, I even wrote out my own drama choir based on an old folktale, directed a middle school group, and toured schools with the piece. I recently put it on line for teachers and others to use. I only ask that you tell me when and where it was presented. To read "Little Eight John" just click   HERE

"Pretty much all the honest truth-telling there is in the world is done by children." - Oliver Wendell

Some other sites you may want to visit  while you are here are:

The Riverwind Newsletter - September, 2007- Read  what the Riverwind Storytellers  are doing in and around the St. Louis Metropolitan area. To learn more about Riverwind, just click HERE

Riverwind is proud to announce that     Barbara Freeman and  Connie Regan-Blake will be the Riverwind workshop   leaders for our 25th Silver anniversary. They were the wind in Riverwind so many years    ago when they came to Illinois to do a workshop in 1981. Many "to-be"   Riverwinders attended that workshop, but we didn't know each other back then. It wasn't until 15 years later that we discovered that they were the start of it all. Come and join us. There will be stories, workshops, and story swaps for everyone! Click HERE for more info.

The I'll. Tell Newsletter - Fall, 2007 Find out what is happening in storytelling all around the state of Illinois.

See what's new on   my   website:

Home Page: Ta-da! My homepage that mysteriously disappeared has now magically reappeared with a much-needed extreme makeover. I guess these things happen for a reason. Come visit and see the new look.

Stories 'n Stones: From Little Egypt to Big Egypt - New program offered by the Kinsellas who went to Egypt in 2007!!!!!  Little Egypt is a name given to Southern Illinois. Marilyn tells the Illinois legend The Piasa and Larry talks about the petraglyphs, pictographs and hieroglyphs. Marilyn then tells the Egyptian story "The Blue Faience Hippopotamus". This is the perfect edu-entertaining program for multicultural days at your school, library or special event.. Click HERE to read the excellent article in the Suburban Journals.

There is a Siberian proverb that states,       "If you don't know the trees you will get lost in the forest, but if you don't know the stories you will get lost in life."

The Northlands Storytelling Network holds a conference once a year. In 2008, it will be held a new location - The Greenlake Christian Conference Center on  April 29-30, 2008. Be sure to click on the link above to get the latest news on the Northlands (a five state regional organization.

        TEACHERS' CORNER

               

 I am pleased to tell you that the St. Louis Festival's study guide committee received the Christine Eveland Volunteer of the Year award and the UMSL's Volunteer July Volunteer Award. For those of you new to Taleypo News, here is a recap of the study guide and links...

• St. Louis Festival Study Guide  Storytellers, Annette Harrison, Sherry Norfolk and Marilyn Kinsella, have compiled a study guide on the    Arch Festival Website. Come and read about ideas on how to best prepare the class for the festival and some easy follow-up activities.

• Saturday, May 7, 2008, is the Ruthhilde Kronberg Youth Storytelling Concert from 10-12 o'clock at the University City Public Library. If you know a youth that would make a good storyteller, please contact me at markinsella19@hotmail.com

I was privileged to present a workshop (albeit at the last minute because of a cancellation) at the National Storytelling Conference in St. Louis. The workshop "Making Useful Study Guides" was a success. Here are some of the comments on the evals -

 

Fabulous handouts and activity Great -- Thanks for a very useful workshop Very generous and informative

But, the best part is we all worked on and walked away with a new study guide based on the African Folktale: "Anansi and the Moss Covered Rock". If you'd like to see the study guide, just click HERE.

 YES! (Youth, Educators, and Storytellers Alliance)       SIG          

Besides having members from around the world, NSN (the National Storytelling Network) has Special Interest Groups called SIGS. There is one for Youth, Educators and Storytellers called YES. At the NSN conference this year, 3 of our Illinois youths participated in the Youth Concert and received the day's admission to the conference for free. To learn more about YES, just click HERE.

 Digital Storytelling: Yea or Nay

There is a lot of discussion recently on digital storytelling. There are pros and cons as there are with anything new and innovative. I think that for years I was inadvertently doing "digital" and just did not know it, until someone came along and gave it a name. Many of the stories that I told for years I put on my website. Of course, I couldn't leave well enough alone and started to find pictures and links on the I that went with images in my stories. Viola! Digital storytelling. Who knew? See SS Admiral, I Salute You and The Sights, the Sounds, the Story of the 1904 World's Fair.

Many storytellers find "digital" disturbing. First of all it's not real storytelling - for real storytelling is a live, dynamic narrative art shaped by the teller and audience. However, if a teacher uses digital storytelling properly, storytelling is a part of the equation. That means that the teacher must work with the students on becoming storytellers...first and foremost. and then use technology to put it into a different form. Perhaps, it should be called Storytelling with Digital Scrapbooking. Here are some websites collected by fellow storyteller Karen Chace at www.storybug.net See links below::

• Digital Storytelling Lesson Plans

• Web English Teacher

• Jackie Baldwin's Digital Compilation

For more programs offered by Taleypo the Storyteller and Stories 'n Stones go to  "About Marilyn". To see what Taleypo can bring to your school, click
Storytelling with A+ 

"You've got to be original, because if you're like someone else, what do they need you for?"

--Bernadette Peters