A New Day Means Another Awesome Opportunity

Perhaps the greatest misconception about history today is that names and dates play a central role. It isn’t. The most important thing in History the passing of pique emotions or trivial trials and defining moments. History is sharing life from one generation to the next in an intimate and memorable way. History is Storytelling. At this point I am tempted to leap into a lecture-like iteration of how and when stories have played important roles throughout history, but that is the act of a researcher, not a storyteller.

                My first history teacher knew how to paint with words. His “lectures” wove finely spun threads of folklore and fact into a fantastic tapestry. Remembering the lives which have lived parallel to our, displaced by a century or two. When you learn history like it is real (of course it is real, but very few teachers present it as though they are discussing real lives and existing souls) it has a way of arresting, fascination, and inspiring. As I say, if you do not like history, you never had a good history teacher. This teacher, and every great history mentor I have ever had has truly been a storyteller. As one well respected professor, C. S. Lewis, aptly noted in his book The Horse and His Boy: story-telling (whether the stories are true or made up) is a thing you're taught, just as English boys and girls are taught essay-writing. The difference is that people want to hear the stories, whereas I never heard of anyone who wanted to read the essays.

                Before my grandmother passed away four years ago, she gave me many stories. She never told them to me, though. She was embarrassed to talk about them, or perhaps she thought they would not interest me. Whatever the case, she passed on my heritage in the antiques she left me. Bobbles and books and gewgaws and diaries and dolls – the list is endless. Each of those items had a story to tell it has (and continues) to be my aim to seek them out and listen. Then this form of listening has led me to Celery Soup, a charming company in Sanford. Their aim is to send out listeners (or line catchers as they title them) into the community to gather what they can, to absorb what locals have to offer. Then they spin those gathered threads and weave them into plays to present back to the community. It is a perfect cycle of listening and telling which strengthens the community and demonstrates living history.

                Soon I shall be a line catcher; next week I am scheduled to conduct an interview. However, my first task has been to read through the present play (Touch and Go) and sift through prior interviews to dig up questions, ideas, and hopes to bring up in our conversation.  Throughout the semester, I will conduct several interviews, transcribe them, and identify stories which we shall incorporate into the next play. One thing I will be learning well this semester is that a mastery of storytelling and history requires significant preparation, yet is worth every effort in the end.