Sandra Harris
Storyteller
ohpookie@sbcglobal.net
It seems so simple: We sit in a circle and tell stories from our own lives. So how can it be that after every meeting of the As I Recall Storytelling Guild, I am awe-struck. Awe-struck and deeply satisfied, as if I’d just been sitting in my long-departed mama’s kitchen in Tennessee, eating her cornbread, dripping with butter?
I’ve been facilitating this guild for many years now. We meet the third Wednesday of every month at 2 p.m. at the Glendale Public Library. A few of us have told stories professionally, a few have taken a course in storytelling from Bob Sander, a few just listen, a few have come to listen and find a story alive in them that just must be told. There is no membership fee, no requirements, and anyone who shows up is welcome to tell a story.
My role is to welcome everyone and get the introductions started. Then I state the guidelines. 1) Stories must be from our own experience. 2) Once a story is told, listeners are welcome to respond with what we liked about the story or the telling. 3) Following the affirmations, the teller may ask for constructive feedback if he or she wishes. I then ask who came with a story to tell, and the fun begins!
Some stories are long, and from long ago. Some are short, simple and from last week! Some are funny, some heartbreaking, and many are both. We seem to have learned from one another how to tell difficult stories with humor and grace. Some are about being present at historical events, and some are about small, intimate moments. As the minutes tick by, the stories and the listening seem to deepen, and by the end, we all seem a little amazed by the spell that has been cast in our midst. Don’t ask me how it happens! I just know that it does and that I feel privileged to be holding the space for stories to happen.
So join us if you can! One of our regular attendees takes the day off from his job to attend. Shy people are especially welcome. We need listeners as much as we need tellers. That’s the third Wednesday of every month, 2 p.m., at the Glendale Public Library. We’ll be watching for you.