MO-TELL has a new website. We are still listed under www.mo-tell.org but we have a new look and an easier website to maneuver.
This is all due to our web guru, Hilary Kuntz and the insight of the board of directors. The new site is still under construction but you can find lots of information on it so far. Anyone can look at the site, but members are allowed a special privilege: a page just for members and their contact information.
If you are a member, I encourage you to send us a bio and a picture. We are not an agent for you but we do allow you, as a member, to “strut your stuff.”
• Go to “Find a Storyteller” on the site to see what others have done.
• To become a member, go to the website and find the page “Join MO-TELL”. There is a form to complete and the all the information you need to become a member, or contact the lovely and wise Sue Hinkel at shinkel@mail.win.org for more information.
We are proud of the benefits we offer our members:
Missouri State Parks Storytelling
Missouri Liar’s contest
Web site presence for storytellers
National Storytelling Network affiliation
World Class newsletter.
If you have something you want to add to the “Blog” page, send it to me at joyceslater20@gmail.com. Check out our calendar for upcoming events, and please let us know what you think about MO-TELL.
The crow gathered pebbles, one by one, and dropped them into the pitcher until the water rose to the top.
The snow is falling and it reminds me that Winter is a time for telling stories. In some traditions, stories are only told in the period between the first snow and the last snow of the season.
During the Spring, Summer and early Fall, communities were busy hunting and growing food so there was little opportunity for storytelling. In the winter when thedays were shorter and the ground was frozen with ice and snow, people stayed inside to keep warm. The gathering of family encouraged the sharing of stories. Stories entertained, shared traditions and taught morals.
Traditional stories also had a lot of animals in them. It was respectful to tell animal stories when the animals weren’t around to hear them.
There were Sacred stories too. The sacredness of each tribe was embodied in their stories and these stories could only be shared by tribal members. The sacredness of all cultures and their stories should be respected. What are your sacred stories?
A thought for Your Day:
“Stories have to be told or
they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.”
― Sue Monk Kidd,
The Secret Life of Bees