Storytelling at the Market melds people, unique stories

Published 8:43 am Sunday, June 23, 2019

Each life generates its own stories.

Area resident and professional storyteller Jeanette Waddell is once again partnering with Allied Arts to give a platform to those wanting to share their tales of life’s ups, downs, and all the in-betweens. 

Storytelling at the Market, which is held once a quarter at Allen’s Market, located at 101 E. McIntosh St., showcases local people and the unique stories they have to relate. The next installment in the series is at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. Its theme is “Falling Down and Getting Up” and will include storytellers Tracey Pelt, Bunnion Tanner, Harriet Davis, Larry Martin and Mary Purcell. 

Waddell found a love for crafting stories in her childhood, and in the 1990s, realized — to her delight — that people would pay money in exchange for her narratives. She said she finds inspiration everywhere and from everyone. 

“Storytelling is an art form that breaks down the barriers that we all put up in our lives,” she said. “Bringing people together, who might not otherwise find themselves in the same room, to share their stories, is a small way to make a community. Being able to listen to personal stories helps us to see one another without the walls.” 

For a millennium, communities across the globe have come together to share stories that document the human experience. The history of rural cultures, steeped in traditions, were handed down to generations through clan and tribal storytellers. 

In the American South, stories are taken as seriously as southerners’ grits — laden with richly buttered vernacular, and for all that is holy, absolutely no sugar coating. Simply look toward Milledgeville’s famed storyteller Flannery O’Connor to see that characters taken from one’s own life are far more interesting than a fairytale set in a far off land.

For Waddell, her quest to find new stories and their tellers is never-ending. Paper and pen are her constant companion to document stories and make connections to people who might want to share them publicly.

“I’m always eavesdropping on people’s conversations to see if what they are saying would make a great story to tell,” she admitted. “I keep an envelope with me at all times to write down names and contact information of those who could fill the next scheduled event.” 

According to Waddell, September’s storytelling theme is a work in progress, but might include how most must learn life’s lessons “The Hard Way”; in November, a local celebration of Telebration — the worldwide storytelling event. The last Storytelling at the Market event will be held in December and its theme will be “The Best Gift.” 

“We all have interesting stories to tell. Some of us just need a little convincing to tell them in public,” she noted. “Through sharing our life’s stories, we can inspire each other and enrich our community together, in this small way.” 

For more information on Storytelling at the Market, visit www.milledgevillealliedarts.com. To hear a podcast of previous storytelling, visit WRGC at www.wrgc.gcsu.edu/stories-market.