by Kate Simer On family traditions of storytelling My father immigrated to the States from Turkey when he was in his thirties. He told stories with his hands, and with different voices, so that the characters came alive around our dining room table. His stories made us jump in our chairs, made us look at one another suspiciously, “Is he telling …
Archives for January 2015
Banamichi Recollections, Part II
(Editor Note: Check the SFA website and Jim Griffith Archives for additional Fieldschool reflections) Three vignettes: 1. El Cristo Negro by Linda Murray Berzok The black Christ in Sonora -- shiny, skinny, angular, tortured, strange, foreign. Don't care if the statue is the original or not. Why is he black? Why here in Mexico? Reminds …
Breaking Bread
It’s just another day across Tucson: Early morning, tucked behind neighborhood churches or shelters, about 25 community members stand in line, patiently. There’s a mix of veterans, seniors, homeless and people who are live at the poverty level – Many have traveled miles for the conversation as much as the coffee. Some want food bags or a bar of …
Knit and Tell
It’s winter in the desert. Here, as well as all across the country, there’s no better time to cluster in comfy knitting circles that are more than crafting. They’re also networks to share tradition and pride in handiwork, according to Barbara Eiswerth, the founder and director of Iskashitaa, the grass roots organization that helps rebuild …
On with the Show
It’s a natural tool for unifying and entertaining, and it celebrates what makes each of us unique and courageous. Or so Penelope Starr has found about storytelling, after more than a decade of the community phenomenon called Odyssey. Individuals who step onto the Odyssey stage open doors of self-discovery, and pass along life lessons, humor, …
Pow Wow Stories
Pow Wows are highly structured occasions at which Indians of different tribes get together to visit, sing, dance, compete, and generally celebrate their shared Native identity. Although they certainly have spiritual content, they are primarily social celebrations." -- Jim Griffith, Pow Wow 101, Tucson Meet Yourself, 2012 Explanations and Comments …