Joseph Sobol is one of a select few contemporary scholar-practitioners
to chart the evolution of storytelling from traditional foundations to
its current multifarious presence in American life. The years since his
classic The Storytellers' Journey: An American Revival (1999), have
brought seismic shifts in storytelling circles. Essays gathered here
move between cultural history, critical analysis, and personal
narratives to showcase the efforts of traditional and contemporary
storytellers to make their presence felt in the world.
The book begins with an account of recent changes in the storytelling
landscape, including the growth of a new generation of urban personal
storytelling venues sparked by The Moth. Next is a suite of essays on
Appalachian Jack tales, the best-known cycle of traditional American
wonder tales, and an account of its most celebrated practitioners,
including close encounters with the traditional master, Ray Hicks. The
next set examines frames through which storytellers capture
truth--historical, legendary, literary, oral traditional, and personal.
Stylistic differences between northern and southern tellers are
affectionately portrayed, with a special look at the late, much-loved
Alabaman Kathryn Tucker Windham.
The final section makes the case for informed critical writing on
storytelling performance, through a survey of notable contemporary
storytellers' work, a look at the ethics of storytelling genres, and a
nuanced probe of truth and fiction in storytelling settings. A tapestry
of personal stories, social criticism, and artistic illuminations,
Liars, Damn Liars, and Storytellers is valuable not only to scholars
and students in performance, folklore, cultural studies, and theater,
but also to general readers with a love for the storytelling art.
