Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Penguin (Non-Classics) (1976), Paperback, 356 pages
Description
As interest in the art of storytelling continues to grow, many books have appeared on the subject but none have matched the scope and charm of The Way of the Storyteller. First published in 1942, this classic work is unique in its blend of literary history, criticism, analysis, personal anecdote, and how-to instructions. Sawyer examines storytelling as a folk art and a still-living art, tracing its evolution from the earliest narrative impulses that developed as stories were written down. With simple suggestions, she instructs the reader in the art of storytelling and freeing the creative imagination by disciplining the mind. Sawyer's guide also includes an engaging selection of international stories sure to enchant both children and adults. The Way of the Storyteller also is an invaluable resource with a comprehensive reading and story list.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member auntieknickers
Everyone who wants to be a storyteller should read this book.
LibraryThing member JudyCroome
Although Ruth Sawyer’s quaint “The Way of the Storyteller” is more a book about verbal storytelling than it is about written storytelling, there is still much wisdom to be found in its pages.
Sawyer’s passion for stories shines through the pages and her rich experiences in interpreting the
Sawyer talks of four invariables in story telling:
Experience
The Building of Background
The Power of the Creative Imagination
A Gift for Selection
Experience is what gives a story teller the ability to make the difficulties of her art seem simple; experience comes with writing and writing and writing until the techniques of the art are so ingrained they become invisible.
The building of background is what enriches a story; the opportunity to gather a wide and varied background lies anywhere one looks.
When an artist brings his creative imagination to bear on his material and – from something abstract, from something without form or meaning – transforms it into a real work of inspiration for others to enjoy, this then is the power of the creative imagination.
Sawyer talks of a storyteller knowing which stories to select before entertaining her listeners. There must be an acceptance that some stories are not yours to tell, but belong to another who can tell them better. This gift of selection, too, can apply to writers: what suits one writer’s voice may not suit another. And the gift lies in knowing which story suits your own writer’s voice.
Written in 1942, revised in 1962, what I found most poignant about Sawyer’s recounting of the art of storytelling was her concern that novels – stories told in written form – have become marketable commodities and, as such, have become commonplace. On completing this book one cannot help but wonder if the current woes besetting the publishing industry have their roots in the fact that, for both author and publisher, profit is now placed above the ancient art of storytelling. If the novel is good enough, it will naturally sell as many copies as any author or publisher could ever want.
The one thing I've taken away from this book is that - to be a true teller of stories worthy of all the story tellers who have come before us, from Homer to JK Rowling - the story itself is what matters most. What happens within its boundaries must be inevitable: every story must have an inner integrity and, to have a chance of being read and enjoyed many times over, it must leave the reader completely satisfied by a tale well-written.
“Books are man’s rational protest against the irrational, man’s pitiful protest against the implacable, man’s ideal against the word’s real,… man’s revelation of the God within him…if the first Prometheus brought fire from heaven in a fennel-stalk, the last will take it back – in a book.” (John Cowper Powys “The Enjoyment of Literature” as quoted by Ruth Sawyer in "The Way of The Storyteller”) (Read September 2009; review posted here from my blog)
Sawyer’s passion for stories shines through the pages and her rich experiences in interpreting the
Show More
written word provide some useful guidance for authors. She explores the ancient roots of storytelling and shows how today’s stories are inseparable from the patterns of the past.Sawyer talks of four invariables in story telling:
Experience
The Building of Background
The Power of the Creative Imagination
A Gift for Selection
Experience is what gives a story teller the ability to make the difficulties of her art seem simple; experience comes with writing and writing and writing until the techniques of the art are so ingrained they become invisible.
The building of background is what enriches a story; the opportunity to gather a wide and varied background lies anywhere one looks.
When an artist brings his creative imagination to bear on his material and – from something abstract, from something without form or meaning – transforms it into a real work of inspiration for others to enjoy, this then is the power of the creative imagination.
Sawyer talks of a storyteller knowing which stories to select before entertaining her listeners. There must be an acceptance that some stories are not yours to tell, but belong to another who can tell them better. This gift of selection, too, can apply to writers: what suits one writer’s voice may not suit another. And the gift lies in knowing which story suits your own writer’s voice.
Written in 1942, revised in 1962, what I found most poignant about Sawyer’s recounting of the art of storytelling was her concern that novels – stories told in written form – have become marketable commodities and, as such, have become commonplace. On completing this book one cannot help but wonder if the current woes besetting the publishing industry have their roots in the fact that, for both author and publisher, profit is now placed above the ancient art of storytelling. If the novel is good enough, it will naturally sell as many copies as any author or publisher could ever want.
The one thing I've taken away from this book is that - to be a true teller of stories worthy of all the story tellers who have come before us, from Homer to JK Rowling - the story itself is what matters most. What happens within its boundaries must be inevitable: every story must have an inner integrity and, to have a chance of being read and enjoyed many times over, it must leave the reader completely satisfied by a tale well-written.
“Books are man’s rational protest against the irrational, man’s pitiful protest against the implacable, man’s ideal against the word’s real,… man’s revelation of the God within him…if the first Prometheus brought fire from heaven in a fennel-stalk, the last will take it back – in a book.” (John Cowper Powys “The Enjoyment of Literature” as quoted by Ruth Sawyer in "The Way of The Storyteller”) (Read September 2009; review posted here from my blog)
Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
I got this book for Christmas, and I was surprised that I'd never heard of it before. I adore Sawyer's Roller Skates, and thought I'd read all of her other books. This one is in a lot of ways a textbook. Sawyer examines storytelling down through the ages, and though there are some dated parts which
Show More
refer to "savages", it's a pretty wonderful book. It makes me wish I could have gone to one of her events, sat at her feet, and listened to her spin a yarn. Show Less
Language
Physical description
352 p.; 7.7 inches
ISBN
0140044361 / 9780140044362