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Saturday, April 30, 2016

Z is for a Zillion Other Stories

By the time this post automatically appears, I'll be at the Northlands Storytelling Conference, presenting my workshop on diversity and representation for storytellers!

Thank you SO MUCH for visiting this month, leaving amazing comments, and contributing stories to the list! I hope that these 26 posts will become a starting point and resource for storytellers, as well as writers, teachers, parents, and other wonderful people working with story.

As I said at the beginning of the Challenge: These stories are merely a taste. I was looking at what is there, in tradition, to prove that "it has always been this way" is not a good enough excuse to not include certain groups of people, identities, or perspectives in our line of work - because what "has been there" is often misrepresented, glossed over, or not talked about enough. I also wanted to offer help for storytellers who are invested and interested in diversity, but also have a soft spot for fairy tales, folktales, and other old stories. You can have both, and tell it too!

I encourage everyone to pay attention to representation and diversity. We need diverse stories. We need diverse voices. We need diverse characters. Folktales, personal stories, or movies - we need to pay more attention to who is being included, who is being excluded, and how people are portrayed. Don't settle for the stereotypes. Don't settle for the same 5-10 "canon" fairy tales. Keep exploring. Keep asking. Keep reading. Keep telling.

And, most importantly: Keep creating new stories, to fill in the gaps!

See you next week (May 9th) for the Reflections post! In the meantime, feel free to:

Check out my book on traditional stories and superpowers! It contains 55 amazing tales featuring 61 superpowers :)

Follow me on Twitter!

Check out this IndieGoGo campaign from a Peruvian storytelling festival that wants to invite me to perform! Perks include Peruvian and Hungarian folktales, postcards, and more!

Thank you all for an amazing A to Z! 

20 comments:

  1. A fantastic A to Z, thanks for sharing the diversity of your stories. We do need diversity in our literature, old and new!

    Sophie
    Sophie's Thoughts & Fumbles | Wittegen Press | FB3X

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  2. Thank you so much for your wonderful posts this month - it has been an awesome AtoZ. It is so nice to see that there is diversity in traditional tales.
    Tasha
    Tasha's Thinkings | Wittegen Press | FB3X (AC)

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  3. I very much enjoyed your posts. You are a goldmine of fascinating lore. Thanks for playing. I enjoyed it so much.

    @Kathleen01930
    Meet My Imaginary Friends
    #AtoZchallenge

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  4. i would go through your stories again at my leisure, thanks for sharing such interesting stories

    http://www.obliqview.blogspot.in

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  5. I enjoyed following along with you during this challenge. I have 3 newish grandchildren that will need some of these diverse stories to grow up with.
    Finding Eliza

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  6. I really enjoyed your posts. I even found a few that became favourites :-)

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  7. You've done a great job! Congratulations.

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  8. This was great. This is going to be a great resource for me and others to include more diversity tales in our repertoires. Thanks for all of the work you did.

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  9. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and ideas from A to Z. It has been an interesting challenge and your posts kept the energy high.

    Gail’s 2016 April A to Z Challenge

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  10. What a wonderful month of posts - I've enjoyed every one of them and you've certainly left me lots to think about. Thank you!

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  11. This has been a remarkable series of blog posts -- carefully researched and lots of info. I've enjoyed AtoZ-ing with you and look forward to following your blog in the future.

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  12. Thank you for this whole series! I'm so impressed with your knowledge and the lists you've been able to come up with! I can't imagine how much work went into each one, but thank you so much for putting in the time and sharing with us.

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  13. Thanks, Csenge! I'm thinking about representation more, at any rate!

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  14. LOVED your series!! Your book sounds like a must read too. Thanks for the link.

    Congrats on completing your A to Z
    Challenge!! Stay in touch!
    Joy @ The Joyous Living

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  15. Thank you for all your posts. There are so many stories to dive into! So glad I found your blog-thanks to A to Z:)
    Peru sounds great. All the best.

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  16. Thank you for all your posts this month. I have lots to read in the future. I still haven't finished all the Grimm tales I started two years ago. So much to read, so little time to read.

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  17. Congratulations on surviving the challenge. I've enjoyed your posts all month!

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  18. You nailed it once again! Good luck with finishing and defending your thesis!

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  19. Congratulation of concluding the challenge. I had no boubt ;-)
    And thanks for sharing all these beautiful stories. I think world traditions have to offer a lot more than we normally think. Thank so much for giving us a glipse of it :-)

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  20. I've struggled to put diversity into my writing. I'm afraid of cultural appropriation, mostly, but that's no excuse!

    I've decided to start diversifying my art by observing life around me. At the grocery store, in the bank, really anywhere I've begun to notice just how many unique characters there are in my own neighborhood - from different cultures, backgrounds, and experiences!

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