Shonaleigh is a Drut’syla storyteller from the yiddish tradition. She is a compelling teller of tales from her own and many other cultures, and a great teacher and ambassador of the storytellers’ art.
She was also generous enough to take time out of a packed schedule at the Cornucopia festival to talk to me about stories, storytelling and oral tradition.
Oral storytelling is the foundation of the writers art, predating literacy and establishing many of the story-forms and archetypes we are familiar with as readers.
But it is a separate tradition too; what works on the the tongue doesn’t always work on the page, to quote Shonaleigh.
If you are unfamiliar with storytelling, then take time to discover the original storytellers art – and find out how a new storytelling tradition is being grown in Hull right now.