The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf
The Star Online: Lifestyle: Bookshelf |
| Posted: 09 Sep 2011 08:47 AM PDT A well-told story is magical in how it can reach across cultural and age divides to touch everyone. ANYONE who has been read to as a child knows the joy and comfort derived from listening to a story. For the storyteller, often a parent, but frequently a teacher or caregiver, storytime is an opportunity to educate, entertain and inspire, as well as bond with his or her young audience. Even adults are not immune to the charms of a good story, told well. Storytelling, after all, is one of the earliest forms of entertainment. Long, long before the advent of the television and other leisure devices and tools, stories were told in market squares and other public spaces to amuse and instruct, and to instil beliefs and values. We have never really lost our taste for telling and listening to stories. Every day we spend exchanging news with friends, family and colleagues proves that. The Malaysia International Storytelling Festival 2011 aims to highlight the importance of storytelling and the ways it can be used at home, in schools and in the community. Held over two days, tomorrow and Sunday, at Sunway International School in Bandar Sunway, Selangor, the festival will feature seven master storytellers from Asia and the United States. These professionals will not just be telling tales, but also conducting workshops on the various ways storytelling can be used in different fields and industries. The storytellers who will be performing and sharing their knowledge at the festival are Dr Wajuppa Tossa (Thailand), Jeeva Raghunath (India), Hasniah Hussain aka Mama Tok (Malaysia), Ng Kok Keong (Malaysia), Randel McGee (United States), Roger Jenkins (Singapore), and Sheila Wee. We caught up with some of them via phone and e-mail to find out a little more about what they will be doing. Wee, who is often called the "Godmother of Singapore Storytelling", will be conducting workshops on storytelling for beginners and effective storytelling techniques, she says, adding that, "The wonderful thing about storytelling is that you only have to be barely competent before you taste success. Humans are naturally interested in stories, so you start off with an advantage". Jenkins adds that any aspiring storyteller will find the craft a practical one: "Storytelling requires no lavish sets, costume changes or complicated technical support. I travel with a suitcase or props – and sometimes not even that! :So it's highly portable and can be tailored to any situation, unlike a play which tends to work very well for one kind of audience but not another." Jenkins' workshops will focus on storytelling for teachers and parents, as an educational as well as bonding tool. Counsellors and other health care professionals may be interested in Jeeva's workshops on storytelling techniques for counsellors. Says Jeeva, "Medicine often forgets the importance of listening to the patient's story. There is great power in listening attentively, reflecting on what is communicated in life stories of illness and suffering. This technique helps the patient see his or her illness and problems from a different perspective." The storytellers participating in the festival agree that storytelling is certainly a great way to connect with and touch people. "I grew up listening to stories from my elders," says celebrated Malaysian storyteller, Mama Tok, who will be sharing her secrets to good storytelling in four Bahasa Malaysia sessions over the two days. She says that she can still recall "the good feeling and enjoyment of listening to the stories" and also the expressions of excitement and wonder on the children's faces when she first started telling stories herself. "It made me want to give them more. It's very special when you are able to touch children with a good story," she says, adding that her hope always is that a love for stories will lead children to reading more books. The other Malaysian participating in the festival, teacher and storyteller Ng Kok Keong, would certainly agree with that sentiment. As the principal of Tadika Diyana in Kuala Lumpur, he uses storytelling in the classroom and also shows the parents of the children in his kindergarten how to use the art. In his workshops for the festival, he will explain how parents and teachers can engage and educate toddlers and young children using storytelling techniques. From Thailand comes Dr Wajuppa Tossa who is not only a storyteller but also an educator of the art. In 1995, she founded the Mahasarakham University storytelling project which gets people of all ages involved in preserving and revitalising the use of local dialects and folktales in their daily lives and to take pride in their own cultural heritage. She sees storytelling as one way to do this, and her workshops aim at teaching the art of storytelling, especially to beginners. Apart from Malaysia, she has conducted storytelling workshops and performed in Australia, Laos, Singapore, the Netherlands and the United States; as a storyteller, she has been involved in events such as the Asian Congress of Storytellers, Singapore International Storytelling Festival, the Book Fest in Seattle in America, and Story Fest International in the US Pacific West Coast. You might have heard of Randel McGee and his puppet pal, Groark the Dragon – they have been entertaining audiences around the world for almost 27 years. Since "life among humans can be confusing" (mcgeeproductions.com), McGee helps Groark figure out how to deal with all sorts of issues – teaching his enraptured audience along way too, with a mix of comedy and original songs. McGee will be teaching his workshop participants how to develop storytelling presentation. There will also be a workshop on digital storytelling and how NGOs and other organisations can use the technique to tell their story; this will be conducted by Malaysia's Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC). All workshops (which require pre-registration and payment – call 03-7954 7030 for details) will be held at the Sunway International School. On Saturday, there is also a showcase performance by the storytellers at 8pm that will be held at the Sunway campus of the Monash University, also in Bandar Sunway, Selangor. For further details, go to malaysiainternationalstorytellingfestival.org. |
| Posted: 09 Sep 2011 08:47 AM PDT The Most Dangerous Thing Author: Laura Lippman Publisher: William Morrow, 352 pages IN 1979, two girls and three boys on the brink of adolescence spent an idyllic summer exploring heavily wooded Leakin Park on the outskirts of Baltimore in America. But one day, something happened there that none of them wanted to talk about. The friends drifted apart. Decades passed. But now one of those old friends, Gordon "Go-Go" Halloran, gets rip-roaring drunk and smashes his car into a highway barrier. The funeral draws the surviving friends — a magazine editor named Gwen, a stewardess named Mickey and Go-Go's brothers, Tim and Sean — back into the same orbit. Police figure Gordon's death is either an accident or a suicide. Gwen, the protagonist of the story, isn't so sure. As she pokes into the case, she and the surviving friends are pulled back into the past — to what happened long ago in those dark woods. Each of them, it turns out, has a different memory of it. But it's not just because childhood memories warp over time. It's because each of the old friends, and their parents as well, never knew more than a small part of the story. And what each of them knew was a different part. The Most Dangerous Thing is Laura Lippman's seventh standalone novel, although fans of her popular private eye series will be pleased to know that its hero, Tess Monaghan, makes a cameo appearance. The standalones, including I'd Know You Anywhere (2010) and What the Dead Know (2007), have been widely praised not only as mysteries but also as literature — a body of work that places her in the company of Thomas H. Cook and Dennis Lehane as one of America's finest literary crime novelists. The Most Dangerous Thing doesn't quite measure up to the earlier standalones. The first third drags a bit, and story doesn't pack quite as much emotional punch. But it is nevertheless a fine and ambitious novel that explores how much parents don't know about the lives of their children, and how little children know about their parents. Lippman flashes effortlessly between the past and the present, describing that long-ago summer and chronicling Gwen's present-day search for the truth. Gwen, burdened with the care of her aged father and looking for a way out of her dying marriage, doggedly searches for answers, gradually unwinding the past layer by layer. What she discovers will shock both her and the readers, and will change the lives of all of the characters forever. n Bruce DeSilva is the author of Rogue Island, which won the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for best first novel last year. |
| Posted: 09 Sep 2011 08:47 AM PDT How To be a Zillionaire Author: Chellie Campbell Publisher: Advantage Quest, 247 pages DO YOU want to be the next rags to riches story? Do you want to learn how to set the kind of goals that will make you rich? This book offers to guide you through all of that — and more. Yes, the big bucks are important, but the author also says that it is not just about money; because money is nothing without great friends and fun work. Make your money, but don't forget to kick back and smell the roses too. The Perfect 10 Diet: Ten Key Hormones That Hold The Secret To Losing Weight And Feeling Great — Fast Author: Michael Aziz Publisher: Advantage Quest, 422 pages ACCORDING to author Michael Aziz, the Perfect 10 Diet is so perfect that it can be followed by anyone. Whether your goal is to lose a couple of pounds, fight depression, strengthen bones, improve your memory or simply to live longer, this diet claims to be able to do it all without imposing hunger, food cravings or calorie-counting — because it is designed to be an eating-for-life plan, not a quick fix. How To Succeed in Work and Life Author: Todd Duncan Publisher: Advantage Quest, 199 pages WHAT does an entrepreneur, bartender and accountant have in common? Their stories all appear in this book as examples on how to lead the perfectly balanced life. The author adopts an unconventional approach in this book, challenging the status quo in search of a smarter and more efficient ways to work and live. 27 Powers Of Persuasion Author: Chris St Hilaire Publisher: Vermilion, 204 pages IF you want to make a lasting impression on someone, you will first need to examine how good you are at communication and persuasion. You might have to convince and convert sceptics, use information to strengthen your point or steer the conversation in the direction that you want. The author draws on Buddhist principles in coming up with these 27 strategies to help you win over people and gather allies. How To Get And Stay Happy At Work Author: Beth Thomas Publisher: Advantage Quest, 228 pages IT is in the best interest of a company to keep its employees happy but sometimes you just have to take matters into your own hands. This book offers strategies for figuring out how to make yourself happy and how to create an environment that will leave you wanting for nothing. Filled with anecdotes about other people and how they overcome their struggles, this guide claims to be suitable for anyone who works and wants to take control of their happiness. How To Get Rich, Stay Rich And Be Happy Author: Fred Young Publisher: Advantage Quest, 159 pages COMBINING almost three decades of experience as a money manager and investment consultant, the author offers his take on what he claims is an infallible method of getting rich and maintaining that level of wealth. With a focus on real estate, stocks and business, the techniques discussed in this book are tailored for the average Joe. The Diabetes Answer Book Author: David K. McCulloch Publisher: Advantage Quest, 333 pages WHAT is diabetes and how do you live with it? How do you live with someone newly diagnosed with diabetes? Does it ever go away on its own? How do you manage it? The amount of information on the subject can be overwhelming and often contradictory. This book attempts to serves as an essential reference for you and your family, presenting information in a clear, concise question-and-answer format. How to Create a Winning Career Author: David Couper Publisher: Advantage Quest, 224 pages WORRY not if you don't fit in; there's always a way you can climb to the top of the corporate ladder. Got the "wrong" kind of dress style, personal beliefs, sexual orientation and gender? This book will teach you how to capitalise on these differences, turn them into assets and come up with marketing strategies to match your unique qualities with what potential employers want. |
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