Submitted by Timberland Regional Library
Before writing, there was story. People have told stories since earliest times to entertain, educate, and pass on cultural values. Where does that leave storytelling today under the transforming influence of new technologies?
Storyteller, writer, and public radio producer Joe McHugh looks at how stories are told in the modern age in his talk, “Slaying the Gorgon: The Rise of the Storytelling Industrial Complex.” The multimedia presentation will be held after hours at the Olympia Timberland Library on Thursday, February 21 at 7:30 p.m.
McHugh will explain what the myth of Perseus and Medusa tells us about the technologies of storytelling. He’ll discuss why images and sound are supplanting the authority of the printed word, and by so doing, radically altering the cultural, economic, and political landscape. His goal is to provide an opportunity for reflection and discussion about these issues.
Joe McHugh has worked for over 30 years to help young people, organizations, and communities around the nation find and tell their stories. Among other projects, he has collected and published books of traditional folktales from Appalachia, pioneered the use of radio dramas with young people and produced programs for public television and radio. He is currently writing a trilogy on the art and practice of storytelling in the modern world. The first title, “Slaying the Gorgon,” is forthcoming.
McHugh lives in Olympia with his wife Paula Blasius-McHugh. Audio stories from McHugh’s public radio series “The Telling Takes Us Home,” are at www.americanfamilystories.org. His website iswww.joemchugh.info
Free of charge and open to the public, like all Timberland library events, the presentation is sponsored by the Friends of the Olympia Timberland Library. The library is located at 313 8th Avenue SE. For more information, contact the library at (360) 352-0595 or visit www.TRL.org.
