A Study Of Three Contemporary Western North Carolina Storytellers

In past generations, stories were passed on orally within the traditional storytelling family or local community setting. Today, there are a wide array of storytelling festivals and workshops held, at which traditional and revivalist tellers share their craft with a broader, more mainstream audience. As a result, traditional stories are being shared with a wider audience, who may or may not truly understand the historical and moral importance of these tales and their messages. In order to study this shift from the family context to larger audience context, I have selected and interviewed three contemporary western North Carolina storytellers.