Public Culture Lecture: "Storytelling as an Everyday Art" with Megan Stielstra October 22, 2009

October 22nd: Public Culture lecture: "Storytelling as an Everyday Art" with Megan Stielstra, 7 PM

Stalin wrote that, "A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic." Everyday we see this on the news--numbers, numbers, “us” and “them”--and it’s not until we hear the actual story, one person’s loss or love or courage or fight, that we start to understand what’s really going on around the world, a jumping off point to that bigger picture. Art is built around storytelling--a painting, a play, a novel, a film--but there are also the stories we tell day-to-day in simple conversation: in bars and at work, to strangers or loved ones, to explain where we're coming from and where we want to go. This lecture will explore storytelling as an every day art; how we connect, teach, bridge gaps, unite communities and find truth. How do you use storytelling in your day-to-day, and, more importantly, how can you?

BIO:
Megan Stielstra is a writer, performer, and Director of Story Development for 2nd Story (storiesandwine.com), a personal narrative storytelling series set in wine bars around Chicago. She's told stories for The Goodman, The MCA, The Chicago Cultural Center, The Chicago Poetry Center, The Neo-Futurarium, Story Week Festival of Writers, and Chicago Public Radio; she's published stories in Other Voices, Freshyarn, Pindeldyboz, Swink, Perigee, and Punk Planet; and she's talked about stories at AWP, The Center for Art and Public Life in San Fransisco, The National Association of Writing in Education in London, CCC's Creative Nonfiction Week and the Third Coast International Audio Festival. Currently, she teaches creative writing at Columbia College and The U of C.

Official Website: http://www.three-walls.org