This mini-memoir by VASA former President and Board Member, Gayle Turner, is the first of a series of articles by present and former Board Members telling their stories of finding joy serving the board, our membership and the larger Virginia storytelling community. When I decided to explore the world of storytelling someone, I do not remember who, but I am eternally grateful to them, told me I should check out the Virginia Storytelling Alliance. I discovered they were holding their … Continue reading →

Wikipedia, my real brain, tells us that: The Decameron is a collection of novellas by the 14th-century Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). The book is structured as a frame story containing 100 tales told by a group of seven young women and three young men as they shelter in a secluded villa just outside Florence to escape the raging Black Death (of the mid-14th Century). The tales of love in The Decameron range from the erotic to the tragic. Additionally, … Continue reading →

Posted by Les Schaffer Once upon a time, I heard, storyteller Dovie Thomason say something like, “Whenever I did something bad, instead of punishing me, my Grandma, told me a story. I got to hear a lot of stories.” I can certainly relate to this as my Grandma did about the same. I might not have always listened, but I sure got a sense of right behavior, who I was and where I’m from. My Bubbie’s stories helped save this … Continue reading →