Anna Jarrett

The Travelling Storyteller

"Celebrating life and learning through creative arts & storytelling"

STORY NEWS & PHOTOS

An occasional newsletter of storytelling highlights, reviews, profiles and thoughts

Issue 6

Well here we are in the depths of winter and waking up to our first frosts. Keeping our fire alight all day & night, I’m wishing that the days were just a little longer & the nights a little shorter. It’s a great time to be dreaming, writing, reflecting & drinking hot chocolate. So that’s what I’m doing!

My life continues to be full of change and I’m learning to let go of my plots & plans, to go with the flow more. Last summer I picked up some extra work with kids, running activities at the Kids Club (Murramarang Resort) & Vacation Care. I love being outdoors everyday playing with kids and being totally spontaneous. It’s been a gift to rediscover the joy of pure play and total freedom. There’s lots of informal story sharing, but no structured storytelling activity. I love this work & am looking forward to doing more of it, as well as some outdoor activity instruction at Camp Longbeach. 

Resident roo at Ecopoint Murramarang Resort

The story work which comes my way continues to be very diverse and I love it all - oral history, university lecturing, DVD production, young writers workshops, drama teaching, regional touring and being a festival story weaver. 

In March this year, I had the honour of being invited to present my story programs in New Zealand – the south island and the north. It was a blissful two weeks of sharing stories, talking story, learning about many people’s lives, adventuring in amazing places and loving every moment of living in pure story! I especially loved sharing the stage with my old friend, Micheal Parent, a wonderful storyteller/musician from U.S.A. A huge thank you to Liz Miller (Invercargill) and Kay Mills (Auckland), for organizing my work and royally hosting me.



Oh how I wish these tours could last a little longer! Sometimes the landing after a magical time in “Storyland”, can be a bit rough. This time it sure was as my Mum in law became very ill & my husband, my daughter & I all rushed to New York to be with her (I never made it home from NZ – just stayed a night in Sydney & changed planes). Life has a funny way of turning sometimes & this time it’s a big turn. Caring for an aging loved one long distance is quite heart breaking. It’s really got me thinking about life, home, our stories and our family legacies. There’s an old saying “When I am gone, may my stories live on”. I like that.

There are some exciting events happening in the Australian storytelling community – a state conference in NSW and a national festival in Darwin. I’m excited about heading up to the Top End for 3 days of storytelling & would love to see you there. For more information check out:
Darwin Storytelling Festival

NSW Storytelling Conference

I look forward to seeing you in my travels. Happy stories!

See Issue 2 — Feb '08

See Issue 3 — Aug '08

See Issue 4 — Dec '08