ABOUT THIS BOOK

A collection of thirty-plus stories by regional storytellers, each representing the Texas Storytelling Tradition as nurtured within the Tejas Storytelling Association since 1984. Contributors to this sampler of folktales, original stories, humorous and historic tales are all part of Texas Storytelling Festival history. The Festival is an annual event in Denton, Texas.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Contributors are performers in the oral tradition and writers who live in Texas or the American Southwest

REVIEWS

"A love of oral storytelling imbues this celebratory book with the flavors of many cultural traditions that call Texas home. Share these stories with your family, your classroom, and your faith community."

— Kiran Singh Sirah, past president, International Storytelling Center

“A gleaning of engaging tales from the Texas Storytelling Festival that will leave you chuckling and, in some cases, weeping. I loved the chance to peek into the Texan lifestyle via tales of living in … or moving to … Texas.”

— Margaret Read MacDonald, Folklorist, author, storyteller, and former librarian

“Brimming with Heart, grace, and grit! These stories from the Texas Storytelling Festival shimmer and sparkle like a radiant Texas sunset. Celebrate four decades of captivating storytelling, from true, heartfelt personal narratives resonating with raw honesty, to the rhythmic cadence of cowboy poetry echoing across the vast landscape, to tales taller than the towering Texas Sky and stretching wider than the expansive horizon. Each of these diverse stories reflect the gentle humor and generous spirit, which define the Texan soul. Forty Years of Texas Storytelling is a celebration of tradition and the enduring legacy that is the Texas Storytelling Festival."

— Alton Takiyama-Chung, Storyteller (altonchung.com) and Editor-In-Chief of The Story Beast, a quarterly e-Publication dedicated to the art of storytelling (storybeast.org)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction by Barbara McBride Smith
                            History of TSA by Elizabeth Ellis
                              Editor’s Note, followed by stories by these storytellers:
                              Carolina Quiroga
                              Gayle Ross
                              DeeCee Cornish
                              Dan Keding
                              Kathy Hood Culmer
                              Connie Neil Fisher
                              Bety Ayres
                              Donna Ingham
                              Eldrena Douma
                              Dalton Gregory
                              Bernadette Nason
                              Andy Offut Irwin
                              Nancy Wang
                              James Ford
                              Keren Diane Lee
                              Kanute Rarey
                              Kim Lehman
                              Jiann Powers
                              Jay Stailey
                              Fran Stallings
                              Mary Ann Blue
                              Loren Niemi
                              Tim Couch
                              Toni Simmons
                              Sue Kuentz
                              Shane Larango
                              Sheila Starks Philips
                              Sam Payne
Pippa White
Darci Tucker
Larry Thompson
Peggy and Gene Helmick Richardson