STORIES TO BE TOLD

              MARY McGRATH's Story

A few years ago when in New York I experienced a most exciting evening of storytelling in a club with many other listeners who howled at the true experiences of the tellers. It was a production of 'The Moth', and did not feature professional tellers, but folks the founder and his buddies rounded up. I had heard of this kind of event, which took place all over town, guided by novelist George Green, who wanted to recreate the evenings of storytelling he had experience in his youth in Georgia. Many of these events have been recorded and the stories played on 'This American Life' on NPR. I wanted to do the same in Sacramento, but where?

In all the many years I have been storytelling in Sacramento, I never knew of the public library sponsoring a series of storytelling events for adults. And, of course, that sponsorship is common in the SF Bay area, so I saw it as an ideal place for telling and listening to stories. Since the radio is featuring the stories of tellers across America, and many people listen in. I thought of producing the true life stories of our Sacramento neighbors as a good way to add to the stories on NPR, as these are weighted toward the East Coast. I asked my old friend Terry Chekon, who had worked for many years in the library system, if she was interested in the idea. She thought it was time to ask local branches. Many said 'yes' and we started with Belle Cooledge. 

 TERRY CHEKON's Story    

When my friend, and fellow-storyteller, Mary McGrath contacted people about the possibility of creating a series of programs in which adults could share stories from their real lives, I jumped at the chance to be involved. I believe that through sharing stories people really can know and appreciate others, both people they already know and people they have not met before. After just three Straighttalk Storyteller evenings, I have experienced, as a teller, and listener, the ability of stories to create bonds between people. Some experiences, such as making paper chains to decorate Christmas trees, are shared by many; watching an enormous bear coming toward you while you're alone in the woods is an experience most of us have never had. But deep down, my reason for helping create Straighttalk Storytelling is that I love to listen to stories, anywhere and anytime. 

  

Straight Talk Storytellers Founders - Mary Lynn McGrath and Terry Chekon

We have used themes suggested by "The Moth".  One of their goals was to "revive a tradition of adults telling stories from their lives, a practice feared lost in the buzz of social chatter and the loneliness of high-tech communication. We have had evening in November (Coming to California), December (A Walk on the Wildside) and January (The Devil Made Me Do It: Stories of Folly).  Upcoming themes can be viewed here.