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.
