Talk Story in Asian Cultures

Example of an educational event working collaboratively with other organizations – “Talk Story in Asian Cultures” – Thanks in part to a $500 grant award from the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and the American Indian Library Association (AILA), the Council of Asian Pacific Americans (CAPA) and collaborative partners, Oakland University (OU) and the Ferndale Public Library (FPL) (Oakland County, Michigan) presented a successful two-part, multi-generational program entitled, “Talk Story in Asian Cultures: Sharing Experiences and Culture through the Spoken Word” at the Ferndale Public Library (FPL) (Ferndale, Michigan).

Click here to view pictures of “Talk Story in Asian Cultures”

The program was held in the FPL’s Community Room on Saturday, June 1, 2013. Thirty-five people attended the storytelling performance, and 18 people participated in the introductory workshop that followed.

Feedback from the participants was very positive and interest was expressed by several people for more storytelling events and resources like the ones provided by the “Talk Story” grant program.

The first part of the program provided a storytelling performance by a professional storyteller, Ming Louie, who focused on traditional Asian folk tales as a way to demonstrate the power and beauty of storytelling in the transmission of culture and history from generation to generation. The program then built off of Ming Louie’s compelling performance by inviting audience members to participate in an interactive workshop where the storyteller taught APA and other community members how to use stories as powerful means of communication.

A portion of the grant was used to purchase storytelling resources for the FPL’s collection. Titles of the resources purchased are noted below:

1. The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human by Jonathan Gottschall
2. The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker
3. The Whispering Cloth: A Refugee’s Story by Pegi Deitz Shea, illustrated by Anita Riggio and You Yang
4. The Sleeping Giant: A Tale from Kaua’i by Edna Cabcabin Moran
5. The Ghost Catcher by Martha Hamilton and Mitch Weiss, illustrated by Kristen Balouch
6. All the Way to Lhasa: A Tale from Tibet by Barbara Helen Berger
7. Angkat: the Cambodian Cinderella by Jewell Reinhart Coburn, illustrated by Eddie Flotte
8. Tuko and the Birds: A Tale from the Philippines by Shirley Climo, illustrated by Francisco X. Mora.
9. Fly Free! by Roseanne Thong, illustrated by Enjin Kim Neilan

These are examples of the Education Committee’s signature programs and events. If you would like to offer support or volunteer, please contact the Chair of the Education Committee.