Storytelling

Ruxandra Guidi is no stranger to deadlines. She has been working as a storyteller and journalist for close to two decades for outlets including NPR, the BBC, National Geographic and The New York Times. But lately she has become increasingly interested in slowing down the reporting process and seeing what happens when she gives herself one month or one year to tell a story, instead of one day or one week.

Science and religion are often pitted against one another as opposing forces. While science is defined by clear methodologies and peer-reviewed findings, religion is at once abstract and highly personal. Yet whether or not someone is a highly-devout Hindu priest or a Nobel Prize-winning neuroscientist, both are wielding tools in search of greater understanding. 

Beloved North Carolina authors Lee Smith and Jill McCorkle first partnered up with Nashville-based musicians Matraca Berg and Marshall Chapman to help design the musical “Good Ol’ Girls,” which debuted in 2010. 

 In the eight years since founding The Monti, a North Carolina-based storytelling organization, Jeff Polish has chosen a variety of topics for storytellers. Participants on The Monti stage have talked about their experiences around themes like "Fear," "The End of the Road," and "Humility." 

But one topic stayed off the list: God. When Polish eventually decided to broach the difficult subject of a higher power, the response was off-the-charts.

Durham-based singer-songwriter Brett Harris didn't grow up in a musical family, but he has found one in the Triangle.

Harris is a touring member of The dB's and a core member of Big Star’s Third, a group that recreated '70s rock group Big Star’s album “Third” with live on-stage performances. In his new solo album, “Up in the Air,” Harris lets his strengths as a songwriter and storyteller shine on an original set of indie-pop songs.

Can stories help to bring a community together?  

How about radio stories, conceived and made by citizen storytellers?

Listen to a preview of Storymakers: Durham, a project of the national Localore: FindingAmerica initiative.

When a volunteer storyteller takes the stage at the Triangle’s storytelling event, The Monti, the audience never knows what to expect. He might share a poignant tale about a complex relationship with a parent. Or she might prompt roars of laughter with the story of a first date gone wrong.

WUNC is one of 15 stations across the country chosen to be a part of an innovative public media project called Localore: Finding America.  The project is being put together by the Association of Independents in Radio and is funded in large part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.  

As a part of the project, WUNC is partnering with John Biewen, a producer with the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, and will explore the things that bring us together and divide us as a community, like race, class and faith.

In 2010, Wisconsin-based blogger and humorist Ann Imig wanted to create a forum to “give motherhood a microphone,” so she planned a live performance event in her hometown. Five years later, groups of writers are gathering in 39 cities around the country to continue the trend by sharing their diverse experiences of mothering. Thirteen local writers from across the Triangle will share stories ranging from grappling with maternal guilt to caring for an aging mother.

Comicons, or conventions of comic fans, are best known for throngs of costume-clad attendees and access to the industry’s best comics creators. 

At the end of the 18th century it was very common for women to die during childbirth. 

Live storytelling events have increased in popularity recently, but audio listening parties are still relatively rare. A monthly event called "Audio Under the Stars" seeks to change that in Durham.

Its organizers see audio stories as vehicles to other times and occasions for social engagement. The latest installment, "Fish Out Of Water: Stories of misfits, oddballs, mariners and real fish", is Friday at 8pm at SPECTRE Arts in Durham.

Below is a taste of the kind of stories "Audio Under the Stars" showcases. 

Many people assume comedy requires wacky characters and crazy scenarios. But for comedian Kevin Allison, vulnerability is key. His podcast and live show, "Risk!", features personal stories the tellers never thought they would share. "Risk!" will be at DSI Comedy Theater in Chapel Hill on Friday at 8:30pm. 

Check out last week's podcast. The theme was stung. On The State of Things, we played a clip featuring LA-based comedian Jen Kirkman.

When many people hear the words “video game,” they think of a stereotypical geeky teenage boy. But that image does not represent the true industry. Women account for nearly half of the gaming population and more than a third of gamers are over the age of 36. Video games have expanded into an art form that produces complex narratives, cultural critiques and symphony soundtracks. 

In the pre-digital era, storytellers were a specific category of individuals who regaled live audiences with their tales. Now, anyone with a smart phone or a YouTube account can be a storyteller who reaches audiences across the globe. What is the future of the art of storytelling?

The North Carolina Literary Festival asks that question of a panel of experts this Saturday at 12:30 pm in the James B. Hunt Jr. Library at North Carolina State University. 

Wesley Hogan's interest in storytelling stretches back to her childhood. 

The UNC Stone Center is celebrating 25 years of promoting black scholarship in the Chapel Hill community. The Center’s first exhibit of the season features the portraiture work of Brooklyn-based artist Tim Okamura. "This Story Has Not Yet Been Told…" draws from Brooklyn life, hip-hop culture, and storytelling.

Joe McHugh says we spend too much time focusing on what information people consume instead of how they consume it. Conservatives may focus on Fox News, and liberals may love MSNBC, but McHugh says that’s not as important as the fact that members of both ideologies are watching television. He says the mediums we use can be as influential as the content they provide.

In the age of digital technology, storytelling is alive and well. In fact, many professional storytellers travel, working the festival circuit. Donald Davis is on the road 42 weekends this year, entertaining audiences with tales about identity, spirituality and everyday life.

The Monti - American Graduate Special is an hour of true stories from the front lines of North Carolina’s high school drop out crisis. It's hosted by Jeff Polish. He's the founder of The Monti, a local non-profit whose stated mission is to create community through the story-telling. For this collaboration with WUNC, Jeff sought out North Carolinians with personal stories to tell about the struggles that get in the way of a successful high school education.