My first real exposure to storytelling, as a storyteller rather than a listener, was at a storytelling circle meeting in Peterborough, Ontario while I was an undergraduate student at Trent University. The Peterborough Storytelling Guild provided a friendly atmosphere for beginning storytellers to start telling stories, and gave an opportunity to meet and chat with more experienced storytelling. Thirteen years later, I’m still telling stories.

Over the summer, I was asked to participate in the Folk Festival, both on the main stage and in the Oral Traditions tent. In the tent, I sat with Louise Moyes and Mark Cormier and swapped stories back and forth. It was a great experience, and reminded me of the informal storytelling sessions that had inspired me to become a storyteller. It also made me think seriously about starting a storytelling circle in St. John’s.

On the second Tuesday of October, “A Night of Tales” was held at the Crow’s Nest Officers Club, the first meeting of the St. John’s Storytelling Circle. About 35 people showed up, and five people told stories. A month later, at the second meeting, over 60 attended, and an entirely different group of new tellers shared their stories.
In a storytelling circle, people sit around and share stories back and forth. It is that simple. It is an informal atmosphere, and gives people who are not professional storytellers a chance to tell a story, rehearse in front of a group of people, and get their storytelling feet wet, so to speak. The stories told are as varied as the tellers. We've had tellers who were young and old, male and female, experienced and first-timers. We have heard traditional Jack stories, historical tales, personal narratives, humorous anecdotes, Haitian folk tales, and a ghost story or two. The crowd attending has been very appreciative, with a real mix of people showing up for the event.

The idea is get people telling stories, whatever kind of stories they wish. At the most recent storytelling circle, we had a woman tell a story she had written herself, and it was the first time she had told a story in public. Afterwards, she thanked me for the experience, and said she wants to tell another story at the next meeting! The goal is to get people interested in storytelling as an art form, and to encourage people to start telling stories themselves.

The St. John’s Storytelling Circle will meet again February 10th, from 7:30 to 9:30 at the Crow’s Nest Officers Club, with opportunities for new storytellers to spin a yarn. The Crow’s Nest is located off the public stairs at the east side of the War Memorial on Duckworth Street. For more information, call Dale Jarvis at 685-3444 or visit http://www.hauntedhike.com/storytelling.htm