Rafe Martin: Appearances

Appearances by Rafe Martin
Here are some of the kinds of events and workshops Rafe performs.

IN SCHOOLS...

What might a school visit look like?

What does Rafe do in a storytelling workshop?

At what kinds of events and institutions does Rafe perform?

Photo Gallery
CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

In Schools...
In schools, Rafe works with all grade levels and ages telling stories and sharing an empowering vision of language, writing, creativity, and imagination. He leaves listeners with an awareness of their own power to create. Rafe also offers family and adult performances as well as professional workshops.

For adults he draws on a range of stories that delve deeply into myth and mysterious realms of the imagination. These evenings tend to be built around complex and evocative Irish love tales and myths; original tales of the Animal Dreaming--stories which connect his own storytelling travels and strange encounters in the mythic zone today; stories of the Buddhist, often specifically Zen Buddhist tradition, (the ongoing practice of which he has been personally immersed in for the last thirty years); eerie Japanese ghostly tales as well as powerful Native American narratives. He's now experimenting with an original, true, family tale of love, destiny, and the Holocaust. It can be an evening of insight and suprises--expect laughter, magic, mystery, love, anguish, and vivid exploration.

What a School Visit Might Look Like

June 5, 2002, Middlebury Elementary School
-- Photo credit: Tom Kabelka, Waterbury Republican-American newspaper 6/6/02.

What does Rafe do in a storytelling workshop?
My school visits are set up on the basis of three 45 minute sessions, plus a book-signing. I work with every grade level, from kindergarten to high school--and beyond. Evening performances for parents and children and teacher workshops on the art of telling and the art of using stories in the classroom to develop reading and writing skills, as well as on its importance to creativity in general, are also options. These can be chosen as one of the three events or can be built in separately. In each session I talk about language and about stories in words--the only technology that gives us--even today in this age of computers--our own inner images. I reveal something of my writing and rewriting process and show how words create images. And then, through the dramatic performance of a story--I am both an award-winning author and a nationally known storyteller--show how told stories can differ entirely from stories in a book.

My job is to make words live and to reveal to students their own real creative power. The storyteller, after all, only makes sounds on the air, the writer only makes squiggles on a page. It is their own minds, the minds of the listeners and readers that makes the story live! And unlike movies and TV, stories in words help us each discover our own inner seeing. Each person sees the story differently. So many children today, so used to TV and movies, never realize this great power of their own. Then reading and writing become much harder than they need to be. It all begins with knowing how to use your mind and how to pay attention to your own images.

After that I answer questions and, if there's time, tell another short and lively or moving story.

So there are really three components to each session. First, talk about language and stories and writing. Second, performance of stories--making them live. Third, questions and answers.

At what kinds of events and institutions does Rafe perform?
Rafe has been a either a featured speaker or featured storyteller at many major events and for many prestigious institutions including The National Storytelling Festival, The Joseph Campbell Foundation Festival of Myth, Folkore, and Story, The International Reading Association International Convention, The American Museum of Natural History, The Three Apples Storytelling Festival, Sharing the Fire, The Mariposa Storytelling Festival, The Ogden Utah Storytelling Festival, The Buddhist Peace Fellowship, The International Storytelling Institute, The National Council of Teachers of English, Ganandagan--NYS Historic and Sacred Seneca Site, The Vassar College Institute on Children's Book Publishing, The New York State Environmental Protection Agency--to name just a few. Each year Rafe continues to appear in countless schools, libraries, conferences and storytelling festivals throughout the U.S.-- including Hawaii and Alaska--and as far away as Japan.

CONFERENCES AND WORKSHOPS

Rafe Martin has spoken at countless international, national, regional, and statewide conferences, both as an inspiring keynote speaker and as a workshop leader.

Rafe speaks eloquently about power of the imagination as he shares a uniquely practical and exciting vision of stories in words - both written and told. He demonstrates how reading, writing, and storytelling are actually the greatest adventures, capable of taking us on a journey deep into our own imaginations. Storytelling, reading and writing he makes clear, may be the oldest technologies on this earth, but they remain the best-most effective and powerful-tools we have, even today, for teaching us not just how to become literate, but how to create meaningful lives.

Rafe's many appearances include:
International Conference of the International Reading Association
American Library Association National Convention
National Council of Teachers of English
Literacy Compass (formerly Bill Martin's conference series)
Tennessee Library Association
Alabama Reading Association
The National Storytelling Institute
Vassar College Summer Institute on Children's Book Publishing
Ohio State Literacy Conference
Mazza Collection Summer Institute, Findlay University
Michigan Association for Media in Education (MAME)
American Orff-Schulwerk Association National Conference
Greenpeace's Change It!
NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Agency) Ames
Utah Educational Library Media Association
Mid Hudson Reading Council
New York City Storytelling Festival
Peabody Essex Museum
Albright Knox Art Gallery
The Texas Book Festival
The Tennessee Library Association
The National Storytelling Institute and National Storytelling Congress
The Sierra Storytelling Festival
The Alabama Library Association
Zuni Pueblo
The Ark in Ann Arbor
The Utah Educational Library Media Association
The Elementary School at West Point

Teachers, administrators, and business leaders - Rafe has the experience and knowledge to turn your staff into skilled and persuasive storytellers.

Want to (or want to have your staff) learn how to tell a story really well?
Rafe can teach them how!

Workshops include -- Understanding the core principles of both writing and telling stories. Understanding the differences between writing and telling stories. Learning how to tell a story without memorizing. Learning how to make a telling come alive by applying Rafe's ìfour levels of gestural languageî method.

"Seventh Generation was committed to telling the story of our company, our consumers, and our planet to elevate people's consciousness about the impact of their actions on health and the planet. Struck by the powerful art form that storytelling is, we went right to the source to learn more---Rafe Martin. Rafe worked with the entire company for one extraordinary day of moving our imaginations. We learned about the power of storytelling, heard deeply resonant stories, and learned how to tell stories well. Rafe also helped us consider how to best tell the Iroquois Native American story in which our name is rooted: in every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decision on the next seven generations. Next, Rafe worked with our CEO and Chief Marketing Officer to help us consolidate story into the centerpiece of our marketing campaign, including a retail educational initiative through storytelling. With Rafe's guidance and deep expertise, we were able to fulfill one of our most important initiatives and we are deeply grateful."

Laurie Allan
Former Vice President, Organization Development, Seventh Generation;
Principal and Senior Consultant Laurie Allan & Associates

"Rafe was an incredible highlight of our MAME Conference in Detroit. His words were just what we all needed to build both inspiration and determination. The blend of story, encouragement to look at the big picture, and his thoughts on writing were just perfect for our audience. The first thing I did when I got home was to order a copy of Birdwing! The relaxed note of the discussion sessions was great, too. I feel very lucky to have been able to spend time with Rafe outside of sessions as well."

Marsha Lambert, Program Chair
MAME 32: Roots and Wings
November 9-12. 2005
Detroit, Michigan

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