It is with sadness we note the passing of Diane Wolkstein. If librarians know of only one storyteller, it would be Diane Wolkstein. Of her 23 award-winning books, which have been translated into 12 languages, two have become classics: "Inanna: Queen of Heaven and Earth" and "The Magic Orange Tree: and Other Haitian Folktales".
Her storytelling repertoire included folk and fairytales, wisdom stories, and epics. Her celebrated rendition of the great Chinese epic "Monkey King: Journey to the West" toured three continents. Recent highlights included performances and workshops at the United Nations, Lincoln Center, the American Museum for Natural History, the British Museum, the Fulbright Foundation, the National Storytelling Convention, and the 2012 Singapore National Storytelling Festival—plus extended tours across Australia, Taiwan, Thailand and Myanmar. She was touring Taiwan when she died of heart failure at the age of 70. She may be best known for instituting storytelling in the park. That’s Central Park in New York City. For decades, every Saturday, from 11 AM to noon, June through September, rain or shine, she would often be at the statue of Hans Christian Andersen to tell stories for those gathered there. To remember her, I am going to play some selections from her CD of The Magic Orange Tree: and Other Haitian Folktales.
Here is Diane Wolkstein
That was Diane Wolkstein
The Lehigh Valley Storytelling Guild holds its Storytelling Circle at Godfrey Daniels at 7 East 4th Street in Bethlehem on the second Wednesdays of the month at 7:30 pm (except the month of August). Come and listen to stories or try out a story yourself. We are a friendly audience and the event is free.
That’s all for now, have fun and keep a story in your heart.
(Original air date: February 2013)