Every family has a story. Every person is composed of an ever-changing anecdote – of traditional beliefs, customs, and tales of his or her community, passed through the generations by word of mouth or actions. This consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, stupid jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales, and traditions. It includes successes, failures, loves, and traumas passed down through the generations. I think this is an individual’s folklore. It is littered with artifacts such as wooden spoons, propagated violets, catfish, crows, ladybugs, turtles, or items used in family rituals like Grandpa’s morning coffee, Grandma’s yellow food coloring for her homemade egg noodles, or my mother’s ritual of moving furniture.
There is power in these stories.
Recently, I attended an event for the Wichita African Union. There, people shared stories of their home counties, culture, food, and fashion. (I still smile when many a person there described their love of bright colors could wake the dead.) This experience verified my belief that every person on the planet has a story to tell. Every person has a story toolbox of sorts. Every person has a collection of origination stories, teaching stories, cautionary stories, tales of heartbreak, legends of overcoming obstacles, descriptions of solving problems, and fables of transformation.
I love stories - for I am a poet and a storyteller.
I enjoy sharing a pre-story prologue just for context. Sometimes I give too many details and semi-related side stories. For extra flavor, I sprinkle a little inner conflict and symbolism and slip in an allegory or two. The format or genre does not matter. The message remains: tell a story -
For I am a poet and a storyteller.
My first experience with writing was forming my letters on my Big Chief Writing Tablet. I remember learning that the Big Chief Writing Tablet was from St. Joseph, Missouri. This was the same home as the Pony Express and the Cherry Mash candy. As a young girl attending school on a Kickapoo Tribe Reservation, I used to imagine that Big Chief had to wear that huge headdress to instill bravery because it took so much courage to actually sit down to learn one’s letters instead of sitting around a campfire and listening to all of the stories and lessons that one could grasp.
When I was young, I did not want to sit in school. Instead, I desired to be outside and play in Mother Nature’s playground. I yearned to catch fireflies, ride horses, go fishing, play with animals, and gaze at the stars while eating a Cherry Mash candy. Luckily, I was blessed to have family who would sit outside with me, share stories, and teach me how to form my letters.
As my academics progressed, finding my writer’s voice did not. I was so stressed out about following the rules of grammar, hiding my inabilities, and afraid of making a mistake that I did not believe that I wrote anything worthwhile. My personal narrative became filled with impending doom. For years I kept all of my writing to myself, stowed away from public view. I dared not to share any of it. Even Big Chief and his headdress could not convince me to open up.
This changed was when I was at my lowest point. During a particularly emotional day, a friend of mine gave me a card with a Maggie Kuhn quote: “…speak your mind, even if your voice shakes” (National Women’s Hall of Fame, 2019). After pulling myself from the proverbial bootstraps, I created some stability for myself and then began non-stop writing about my experiences in all sorts of forms. I wrote children’s books, wrote songs, played my guitar, and sang my guts out. My lyrics morphed into other poetic forms and stories began to emerge. I was on the cusp of discovering my own voice.
Maya Angelou wrote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you” (Brainyquote.com, 2019). I believe this quote relates to finding one’s voice, finding what is important, and celebrating one's self. I like to believe that Big Chief understood that. He would lie back, gazing at the stars, eating his Cherry Mash candy, and know that his stories made people care, made his people believe, and made his people feel empowered.
Yeah, I feel that too. Writing is a lifeblood because we need stories to survive -
For we are poets and storytellers.
Comentários