miércoles, 2 de febrero de 2011

The renaissance in the art of storytelling (CLIJ-1)

Come on, tell me a story, children ask before going to bed. Storytelling belongs to the magical land of childhood, but it's also one of the activities that trigger creativity, imagination, communication, multiculturalism and solidarity more intense. Stories also pervade our daily lives. They are everywhere. And they get us to see life from another perspective: more magical, more bearable, more beautiful. Some of us tell stories and encourage reading, others to strengthen cross-contained classroom, asking for a raise to get a loan, or for the future love partner. The truth is that we can not live without stories. Come on, tell me a story. Well, you see, this is the story of a cat that had feet of cloth and tummy upside down. Do you want me to tell you again? Like a never ending story, so this business of storytelling, a story in itself with a circular life that never runs dry.

Lucia, teacher of Spanish at high school in Paris, commented that she gets students to learn Spanish faster than other classes. How do you get? Was asked by other teachers. Storytelling. It is always more attractive a fairy tale than a real history, common and unremarkable. There are many people who use storytelling tool in its work: lawyers, trade unionists, social mediators, nurses. The list could be endless.

It was already said in the book "The Secrets of storytelling" (Beatriz Montero, Madrid: Ed. CCS, 2011), that storytelling is a gigantic tree rooted in ancient roots. A tree whose perimeter is increasing every day with the nutrients words of storytellers. A robust tree that stands firm to the new technologies surrounding it. And the storyteller's voice that is entangled in the soul, from whose mouth comes words that become guide dogs that lead to beautiful land full of fantasy.
What could be more powerful than the voice that is kept alive in memory for centuries?

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First part of the article published in the magazine CLIJ No 239, January-February 2011, reproduced here with permission of its editors and authors, "What is the International Storytelling Network?" .

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