The House of the West Wind: College of Storytelling presents a course taught by Dr Simon Heywood:
Drutsology: an introduction to the stories and storytelling of Shonaleigh and Edith Marks
As live storytelling listeners around the world know, Shonaleigh carries a family tradition learned from her grandmother of many hundreds of traditional oral Jewish stories, which she has told over the years at regular events Tellers, Tales and Tradition, Twilight Tales, and in many other appearances online and in person.
She has also run practical courses for students on the traditional methods of remembering, understanding and sharing stories. The stories can be enjoyed at a first hearing, but the more you listen, the more they quietly reveal about the long history and the wider and deeper worlds of thought and imagination from which they came – and the more deeply these things in turn enhance our listening.
The stories include biblical, Talmudic and Midrashic lore, legends and folktales from around the world, hasidic alchemical, and esoteric reflections and inspiration: secret landscapes open up and hidden histories unfold for the listener who knows enough of the stories’ context to pick up on the clues they contain.
So far, we have never had a good look at this wider context with enthusiasts and students of the stories. Now we want to try.
For the stories’ original hearers this insider knowledge could likely have been taken for granted. For listeners nowadays, it’s something that has to be searched for and re-imagined.
In this groundbreaking new short non-specialist course we will take selected stories from Shonaleigh’s tradition and range across Jewish history, thought and culture to enrich our appreciation of this truly unique and exceptionally significant body of storytelling lore.
This course would also be good preparation for anyone wishing to take one of Shonaleigh’s practical courses, or wanting to top up their existing knowledge.
Sessions will run on Zoom on Wednesday evenings 7.30pm-9.30pm UK time (BST), from the 5th July to the 2nd of August. They will be recorded so you can ‘catch up’ if you are unable to make one of the classes.
Cost: £150. Concessions: £120 (available to people who are low waged, unwaged, or currently enrolled students of the College of Storytelling).
This course is full. To be added for the waitlist for the next Drutsology, email [email protected]