Saturday, November 14, 2015

Gioia Timpanelli and stories

Last night and today I'm listening and working with Gioia Timpanelli (author, storyteller, speaker) on myths, archetypes, and stories. She speaks in English but slides in and out of Sicilian as she goes, and what is miraculous is that with her body language and gestures everyone suddenly understands Sicilian.

It reminds me of horses and the archetypal language they use.

I'll write more about this later but wanted to say this, now: go find a story today, or tell one. Stories hold us all together.

2 comments:

Grey Horse Matters said...

Stories are a wonderful way to get people together. I'm reminded of everyone telling a story around a campfire when the kids were little. I think they should have some form of story telling in school to get little imaginations thinking on their own instead of relying on technology to entertain them.

billie said...

Arlene, I so agree! And love your memory of the campfire. I actually talked in my introduction to the group yesterday about feeling on Friday night as she told stories that I was by a fire or hearth and that on my way home that night I recalled a childhood gathering of family and friends around a literal campfire to hear stories and songs by an intriguing guest who arrived on a motorcycle and was quite mesmerizing on that dark night.

Then yesterday as I drove out of our lane to go to the workshop, a neighbor pulled in with a huge metal firepit in the back of his truck and he stopped to tell me he wants to get all the neighbors together down there before the holidays.

We ended up breaking into groups yesterday and each told a story. I told the story of Salina and Rafer coming to live with his, and how his breaking his leg brought Redford to us sooner - and Salina's face when she realized there was Another One!!

It was determined that I had to tell my story to the large group at the end and after the workshop Gioia came up to me and put her hands on my face and said "This is a book. You have to tell these stories of horses and donkeys to a larger audience." Well, it IS a book - I just have to edit the huge and still growing ms and get it out there. :)