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New Canton, VIrginia October, 2005 Roanoke, Virginia, the Star City was the second stop on an Appalachian journey that took me from the Catoctin Mountains of Maryland, to the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, to the hills around Jonesboro, TN and across the mountains back into North Carolina, to Saliusbury and then north of Greensboro to Yanceyville, through Danville, Virginia, Lynchburg and then home. But not before I lost direction and ended up visiting New Canton, Virginia and my cousin's house near Warrenton.
New Canton, you may recall, is the birthplace of Dr. Carter G. Woodson.
Mariposa, CaliforniaJanuary, 2005 It was an exiting road trip for me, traveling from Ventura County to Mariposa. It was a return trip. I had been in Mariposa during the storytelling festival there a year or so ago, and had placed an order for a StoryMan doll from Dolls by Arlinda. Arlinda is also the wife of famed musician, Cousin Jack who passed on almost two years ago now. Anyway, the doll was ready, I was in California, albeit, 5 hours away, so a safiri was in order as well. It was also good to get away from the rains and the mudslides of southern California. Mudfilled roadways had just been cleared and there was passage out of the Ojai valley where I was staying. The natural beauty of California is awesome. There are rounded vegetated hills and craggy mountains, and wide open land and did I mention mountains? I came down a mountain, past this historical ranch, on Interstate 5 and drove through an extremely dense fog. I literally drove out of sunshine and daylight into a 200 mile overcast, cloudy, foggy, rainy, cows, tree farm, power line, eighteen wheeler, clouds, fast food eatery, drug store, clouds,same stores you see everywhere, farms, farms, farms, until I made the turnoff headed east toward Mariposa. (To be continued) ASE: The Chicago Association of Black StorytellersBaba Jamal Koram facilitates workshopJune 23, 2003 -- This past weekend I spent some time in Chicago with members of Ase (pronounced ah SHAY), a storytelling organization and an affiliate of the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS). I was invited in my official capacity as the National Director of Affiliate Programs of NABS by Ase President, Kucha Brown Lee. My gracious host was storyteller, Velma Gladney. On Friday evening, we opened with prayer, then a buffet dinner, and then it was on. We dealt with matters of storytelling philosophy and methodology and with organizational concerns and challenges. All in all it was a robust two plus hours of fellowship and exchange. My thanks to all the members and officers of Ase for the opportunity to present and mediate. On Saturday, I spent time with "In the Spirit" member, Emily Hooper Lansana and her husband and children. We attended a parade and a Juneteenth Celebration where Locke and Lloyd were face paintin' and tatooin' and singing with goo gobs of children and parents around them. I had the opportunity to visit the Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature and Creative Writing at the Chicago State University. What an impressive array of Black writers' photos lined the walls. Almost every Black writer you could think of who had been awarded the center's highest award had a photo on a wall. The director of the center is Haki Madhabuti and the associate director is Quraysh Lansana. Later we went to the Soul Vegetarian restaurant, and I had time to chat with storyteller, Mama Edie before it was time for the StoryMan to crash. Ase is gearing up for their annual storytelling festival on October 11, 2003. Try to make it to Chicago to see an exciting array of regional storytelling talent.
Summer stories at the Chevy Chase Library One hundred library patrons gathered for a storytelling at the Chevy Chase Library in Chevy Chase, Maryland on Monday evening, July 21, 2003. Baba Jamal was in rare form as he interacted with the audience of children and adults. Of course, there were the perennial AGO and AMÉ, and the storyteller sprinkled in the Eiko, Eiko favorites as well. With Eiko, Eiko (eye ko, eye ko) the audience gets a chance to compose a rhyme about the gathering. One child shared where his named came from, and that instantly became a rhyme. Baba Jamal also shared what his two favorite childhood books were: Curious George and, The Five Chinese Brothers. One child exclaimed "I love Curious George, I'm going to write more of his stories!" Another child responded, "The Five Chinese Brothers is my teacher's favorite!" Baba Jamal quickly added, "Maybe one day, I'll write a story about The 12 African Brothers ©2002." The audience was very responsive and everyone seemed to enjoy this annual library event. This program was sponsored by the Friends of the Library, and was part of the summer reading program. Each child in the program is to receive a certificate and a free book from a local bookstore.
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