The story programs described below are available to qualifying organizations in Alabama through the Alabama Humanities Foundation. Program organizers contribute $50 towards the cost of the program; the AHF underwrites the rest of the speaker fee and expenses.
These AHF-sponsored programs are very limited in number, and no more of my AHF-sponsored programs are available for 2010. These programs are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. Contact Dolores at 205-951-7757 if you'd like to schedule an AHF-sponsored programs for 2011.
Oh! Henry: The Surprising Stories of William Sydney Porter
"O. Henry" is one of the most famous pseudonyms in American literature. It belonged to William Sydney Porter, who is often called "the master of the American short story." His stories are famous for their surprise endings and ability to show that people and circumstances are rarely exactly what they seem to be.
There were some surprises in William Sydney Porter's own life, too. (He was, at various times, a pharmacist, sheep rancher, land-office clerk, bank teller, publisher, cartoonist, and fugitive from justice.) In this program, Will Porter's personal story is interwoven with updated tellings of some O. Henry stories that serve as a reminder of why he was one of the most popular writers of his era, and why his stories continue to entertain, inspire, and surprise.
__________________________________
Through the Back Door: The Music that Bridged the Bayou
They say in Southwest Louisiana that you can be a Cajun in one of three ways: by blood, by the ring (marriage), or through the back door (by befriending the culture).
This program paints a portrait of Cajun and Creole music and musicians and the role that music played in allowing non-Cajuns to slip "through the back door" into the world of the spirited people of Southwest Louisiana. The presentation includes stories and anecdotes collected from more than 50 Cajun and Creole musicians as they talked about the importance of music in their own lives and the lives of their families. The stories are funny, touching, sometimes irreverent, and often deeply moving.
The program includes samples of the music itself, both in its early style and its modern-day sound.
__________________________________
Footprint on the Sky: Memories of a Chandler Mountain Spring
"Dolores' story takes you into the head and heart of the mountain people. Her stories flow bittersweet , poignant, funny, startling, and lovely."
Bonnets, bow-tie quilts, poke salad, tomato stakes, and an old-timey cure for hiccups -- they're all part of this funny and touching portrait of an Alabama mountain community in the 1970's. Memories, family histories, and superstitions are brought to life in this story of strong women, Southern hospitality, and the generous spirit of a close-knit community.
Click here for a review of a live performance of this story.
__________________________________
Dead Cats and Spunk Water: Superstitions and Magical Thinking in the Writing of Mark Twain
From the Garden of Eden, when Adam struggled to explain the appearance of "this strange new creature with the long hair," to Tom Sawyer’s search for a superior cure for warts, Mark Twain’s imaginative characters – and sometimes Samuel Clemens himself – often used superstitions, folk wisdom, and imagination to make sense of an uncertain world.
Imaginative inventions, strange logic to explain the unexplainable, folk remedies, romance, and the ability of the memory to reshape the past -- they're all some of the creative and magical ways of looking at the world that can be found in Mark Twain's masterful -- and often surprising -- stories.
__________________________________
Putting Down New Roots
This story puts a human face to the experience of early 20th-century European immigration to America, and Depression-era family life, through the detailed story of one Polish-American family. It describes the Ellis Island experience for many immigrants who passed through that entryway in the early 1900s, and details about individual experiences translate immigration data into a moving, human-scale story.
The story then follows one immigrant family as it settles into "American" life during the 1920s and 1930s. Stories of the small neighborhood grocery store they ran during the Depression, their family life, their troubles and joys, and snapshots of their daily life create a personal portrait of what it was like to "put down new roots" in unfamiliar soil.
Click here to read an article about how this story came to life.
