We here at Lit Drift are trying to take a look at how storytelling and literature are changing because of (and in spite of) popular culture.

But when some people talk about storytelling, they mean the oral tradition. Someone standing up in front of a group and talking, motioning with their hands, using facial expressions and sounds, dancing, laughing, relating. I’m increasingly finding myself drawn to this art of storytelling as it existed before all of our contemporary mediums…before radio, before television, before podcasts, before microfiction, before Twitter, before Facebook.

I know we’re called “Storytelling in the 21st Century,” but I guess I keep wanting to write like it’s …1899?  Maybe the 21st century of storytelling will start to look a bit like the last century when people get tired of technology and yearn for something more…human. Well, I might not be too far off since it seems that this ancient art of storytelling is in the midst of a revival.

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True or False: New York City has a full-time paid storyteller.

Answer: True!  So exciting and unbelievable.  Apparently there’s this woman, Diane Wolkstein who was a teacher and a pantomime in the U.S. and France in the 60s.  She dreamed of being a storyteller when she got out of school, but didn’t think this wasn’t a real or viable career. Later she was hired by NYC’s Parks Department to run a summer program for kids and became renowned in the neighborhood for her stories. Her first public storytelling session got a ton of press and led to her getting hired by the Department as the city’s first and only official storyteller.

She’s been telling stories now for 42 years.  Here’s Wolkstein herself from a recent article:

“I read a lot,” Wolkstein said. “I have to read 100 stories to find one I can use. You have to find a story that moves you, because if it doesn’t move you it won’t move anyone else. That’s what stories are about, sharing your heart,” she added. “You cloak it with words, but what you’re really doing is exchanging love.”

You can check out Diane’s personal website here for more information on her upcoming appearances.

I have a new addiction. Oh, and it’s so delicious. I just can’t seem to get enough. Each fix is only temporary and leaves me wanting more. But thankfully this addiction is free and doesn’t harm my body in any way. And it’s so simple, you’d never guess: The Moth podcasts. See, I spend a lot of time on trains. And while I am a voracious reader, I had the misfortune of inheriting severe motion sickness from my grandmother. Just like Granny, if I try to read more than a page or two while on a moving vehicle I break out in a cold sweat and feel like I’m about to hurl. So I’m left with hours and hours on trains with nothing to do but to listen to my iPod. Well, recently a dear friend of mine recommended that I download The Moth podcasts. And this dear friend opened me up to a whole new world of awesomeness. The Moth is kind of like a drug. Storytelling crack. Yes, The Moth is storytelling crack. And I urge you to partake. Read more »

Good storytelling is timeless and transformative. For me, nothing beats just sitting down and hearing a damn good story. True, sometimes it’s cool to see random stuff blown up while mutants battle it out on a big movie screen. And sometimes it’s cool to play with fancy electronic gadgets that simulate reality while I avoid my own reality. And sometimes it’s cool to use those fancy electronic gadgets to blow up virtual mutants of my very own. But if you tell me an engaging story with fascinating characters, if you pull me into lives that help me forget (and better understand) my own, and if you get me emotionally invested in the outcome…I am putty in your hands. But is the art of old-fashioned, sitting-around-a-campfire storytelling dead? Can individuals with interesting stories sit on a stage and engage an entire bitter, jaded, New York City audience? Oh hells yeah. I witnessed such a feat when I attended Visible Theatre’s True Story Project: Faith last weekend. So afterwards I did a little digging to try to find out how they managed to keep me entertained without blowing up a single mutant. Read more »

Equipped with a bevy of volunteers as well as materials found from a trash bin at a construction site, LA-based artist Liz Glynn, pictured at left, relived the rise and fall of Rome in a 24-hour-long participatory performance at the New Museum this past Monday & Tuesday. Description and photos after the jump. Read more »