#31 | Into The Belly of the Dragon - Jan Blake (Storyteller)
“I think all you can do as a storyteller is hold up a mirror.”
Jan Blake is presenting at the forthcoming A Gathering of Stories happening Feb 6&7, 2021. Get full details and tickets here.
My guest today is Jan Blake, one of Europe’s leading storytellers who has been performing for 35 years. Jan specializes in myths and folktales from Africa, the Caribbean and Arabia - and has mesmerized audiences at every major storytelling festival worldwide.
She has been the Storyteller-in-Residence for the Hay Literary Festival, the curator for Shakespeare’s Stories at the World Shakespeare Festival, and the recipient of the British Award for Storytelling Excellence. Jan also leads popular workshops for emerging storytellers, and gives masterclasses on the craft of storytelling.
In our conversation today, we speak of the return to her childhood home after many years living in the city of London. We explore the role of the storyteller and the necessity of permission to connect with an audience. Jan shares the story of The Hunter and the challenges young men face in the cultural climate of today, and finally we speak of the magic that blurs the line between telling a story, and the story telling you.
LINKS
JOIN THE MYTHIC MASCULINE NETWORK
SHOW NOTES
Coming home again
The garden was everything as children
The role of the storyteller
Moralizing versus natural law
Seeking permission to share a story
Does the story wish to be told?
Ritual and the moment
Story of the lost child
The contract of being human
How to learn a story
From shapeshifting to self-acceptance
These are not characters, but people
Honouring the confusions that modern men face
Story of The Hunter
“Is it okay to be myself”
Story as a refuge
A kinship between slam poetry and storytelling
