Stories
We were in the company of about 150 others last night, at the Harvey Stevenson Southam lecture given by Ojibwa story-teller Richard Wagamese.
Invoking the likes of CS Lewis and Norval Morrisseau, Wagamese spoke on the roles of stories in self-actualization; affirming childhood's freedom with narrative; community building; and even the building of garden sheds. Demonstrating with a few stories of his own, and framing the talk with an Ojibwa story about the bringing of light into the world by a spider (which is also the story behind dream-catchers) he spoke to an attentive audience, mostly white, partially students. Wagamese is one who embraces contemporary tools - Facebook, Twitter, blog - unapologetically ("I welcome all those who are friends I don't know.."). I confess my favourite lessons were those of Lewis (You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.) and Morriseau (who urged Wagamese to tell the story for the story's sake). Perhaps that only affirms the role of the story teller as sharer of wider wisdoms.
Invoking the likes of CS Lewis and Norval Morrisseau, Wagamese spoke on the roles of stories in self-actualization; affirming childhood's freedom with narrative; community building; and even the building of garden sheds. Demonstrating with a few stories of his own, and framing the talk with an Ojibwa story about the bringing of light into the world by a spider (which is also the story behind dream-catchers) he spoke to an attentive audience, mostly white, partially students. Wagamese is one who embraces contemporary tools - Facebook, Twitter, blog - unapologetically ("I welcome all those who are friends I don't know.."). I confess my favourite lessons were those of Lewis (You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.) and Morriseau (who urged Wagamese to tell the story for the story's sake). Perhaps that only affirms the role of the story teller as sharer of wider wisdoms.
posted by Rhona McAdam at 8:37 a.m.
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