Hello friends
Hope the lengthening days give you a chance to get outside. Around here, it seems like every day brings something new – first the wood frogs, then the peepers; the snowdrops have given way to the daffodils, and Orion is sinking low while Vega climbs up towards its summer perch. Snow boots gone, wellies on.
I had a wonderful time in the past several months with visits to Nevada and Utah, and a great conference with my New England Storytelling friends at Sharing the Fire in Plymouth, MA. I performed “Stickeen” and gave a long talk about the skills required to become a master storyteller. It was nice to see so many lifelong friends.
Up ahead are visits to Kansas, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and North Carolina. And at the end of August, a trip to Ireland for the Cape Clear Storytelling Festival!
So Long, Charlie!
This month saw the release of the last book in the Charlie Bumpers series, Charlie Bumpers vs the End of the Year. The reviews have been good, and I’m happy with how the series ends. It’s a bittersweet thing to finish a seven-book-series – Charlie’s been part of our lives for the past ten years and it’s hard to believe it’s over. But the books are still here, and I’m so heartened to continually receive letters, emails, and phone calls about how Charlie has touched so many people. If you haven’t already heard it, you can listen to the song I wrote for the book here. And of course, you can order autographed copies form our website – collect the whole series!
I’m currently writing a pilot for a ten-episode radio drama for families for BYU productions. It’s the work I’ll be focusing on this spring and summer. Experimenting with an audio script is a lot of fun, and I’m excited about where it’s going. We’ll let you know more as it goes along – so far so good!
Many of you know in the past year I’ve been performing John Muir’s story, “Stickeen”, the exciting and moving story about his adventures with a small dog and a very big glacier. I love telling the story in an intimate setting. If you’ve got a small venue not too far from my home in southeastern Massachusetts (say less than a two hours drive) and would like to have a storytelling evening, please contact me and we’ll try to work out the details. And of course, happy to travel farther afield to share “Stickeen” with those interested.
I am hosting a workshop September 20-22, for a dozen people who are interested in the craft of storytelling. Presenting along with me will be Clare Murphy, a great storyteller and teacher from Ireland, and Wendy Overly, accomplished actor, director and teacher. The spaces are limited. You can read more about it, and apply at our new Jacob St. Storytelling School website: jacobstschool.weebly.com
Last year, Debbie and I finally got to see one of our favorite musicians, Michael Franti. He is a wonderful artist and performer, and his show was one of the highlights of the year. His new recording, “Stay Human, Vol. 2” is on play here all the time. Just love it.
I’m really enjoying Trevor Noah’s memoir, “Born a Crime”. It is really moving and really hilarious. One funny guy, with an amazing story to tell about coming of age in South Africa. A great read.
I also highly recommend Sebastian Junger’s “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging”. It’s about our culture, being part of something else, the cost of war, and who we are as a people. A short, powerful read.
For people who love Greek mythology, I also recommend “Circe”, the novel by Madeline Miller. You won’t look at Ulysses the same way again!
Let us know what you’re reading – we love to hear.
