The Way of the Storyteller

The handful of other reviews here are not very substantial. I'm not an oral storyteller; I'm a writer looking for help with pitching stories. So my perspective on this book differs from other reviewers.

First, the positives. Ms. Sawyer is a passionate and eloquent advocate of oral storytelling as an art form unto itself. She draws on a lifetime of experience and travel to argue that the art is worthy of an approach by practitioners that is reverent, rigorous, and passionate. She advocates that storytellers study subjects like music, voice, folklore and culture to deepen their art. There is also a fine selection of folk-tales that comprises the entire second half of the book.

All of this is very good--but in my opinion amounts to little more than a pep-talk for librarians who want to tell stories to children. As proof of this I would cite that when Ms. Saywer revised the book in the Sixties she only added two chapters, one on children's literature and another on adding poetry (for children) to the story hour. Telling stories to children is a fine ambition--it's just not one this reader shares.

However, there is plenty in the book that can be applied to other storytelling venues. But, as the author herself admits in the introduction, she has not written a practical manual on storytelling.

So if, like me, you are looking for practical tips on ways to improve your storytelling (and not just deepen your appreciation for what storytelling can be) then you can safely skip this book.

Stories which are on paper do not have the magical effect. The book gives a deep insight what the art of storytelling is.

The literature will help you see the big picture. Life is all about the detail and it is that detail that one has to focus on when doing a story. The practice of story telling is one in where one must too have lots of experiences, such as? Going on trips and seeing the different cultures and lands of other countries for example along with socializing with people. This also includes reading a lot of books and magazines in order to get ideas. Just read it, and don't judge the book by its cover and i hope you get the material in order to make your storytelling in writing or in oral situations fruitful.

This has all the wisdom that a lifetime of storytelling can bring and it's all written down for you. All aspects of storytelling are highlighted and thoughts are discussed, and Ruth Sawyer's rich experience is given.

I have read this book and it was in the summer of my discontent. And it lifted my weary spirit as a successful and busy African Storyteller, not knowing that this was called 'burn out!'.

Through the reading of The Way of the Storyteller, I realized I had to write the way of the African Storyteller, trying to motivate African and African American children to see how great it was that they were from Africa even though the world consistently tries to convince them that this is a shame and we as Africans are backward and disorganized.

I realized why God had called me to be a storyteller and the great healing art of telling.

I wonder if Ms. Sawyer is still living?

Carroll Durodola