When Faced with a Liars Contest, Roger Rose to the Occasion!

We know about the myth and the legend. What about the man?

Anthony Clark encouraged meto enter the Liars Contest and coached me in creating “Jack and the Magic Beans,” which took third place in 2018. My story “High in the Ozarks” took first place as a written story in 2020.

I know thatZoom has opened up a lot ofnew possibilities for storytelling andam glad for that. But I personally do not like to tell on Zoom, because I miss being able to interact with the live audience. And I do not participate much as a listener on Zoom. It’s like working from home -- I am home with all the activities and distractions of being home and find it hard to break away from that for storytelling.

Ever since I attended the Third Annual St. Louis Storytelling Festival I was hooked! Sylvia Duncan and Irene Eveland drew me into Gateway Storytellers dinners at the old Salad Bowl. I signed up for classes at Meramac Community College. When I was looking for places to practice, Leigh McGee invited me to join her in volunteer telling for the Special School District. Like many St. Louis tellers, I owe a lot to Lynn Rubright, Ron Adams, and Steve Otto. On the national level, I have learned from Chuck Larkin, Michael Parent, Donald Davis, Elizabeth Ellis, and many others, too numerous to list.

I have focused much of mystorytelling on literary stories and the balancebetween staying true to the written story and the craft of adapting the story to the oral medium. This led to my involvementin the issues of copyright and getting permission -- issues which have diverted many tellers away from using literary material. I also work with traditional folklore, usually by adapting, modifying, or “fracturing” the fairy tale. I have written some original stories. My version of “Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady”was published in the NSN Storytelling magazine in 2016.

Storytelling became my passion.

MO-TELL Member of the Month: Alice Nathan

Alice Nathan is the first-place winner in the 2022 MO- TELL Missouri Liars Contest Written Category. Alice was raised in Missouri and has lived in West Plains MO, Springfield IL, and now retired to Blue Springs MO. Alice and her husband Rich White were introduced to storytelling when they attended a day of storytelling at the Woodneath branch of Mid-Continent Public Library.

They later learned it was part of the annual KC Storytelling Celebration. Joyce Slater and Sue Hinkle taught a workshop that day. They had never heard of storytelling as an art form, but immensely enjoyed that day. Alice became certified in written and in oral storytelling through the library’s Story Center program. Alice tells mostly personal stories, but occasionally adds in a folktale or tall tale. She has a gentle way of telling a story.

She has a degree in Psychology and Counseling, but says her career took an unexpected turn.

When an opportunity arose to advance to management, her career became serving as Executive Director of non-profit social service agencies. Alice’s specialty was stabilizing funding and erecting new buildings. The client populations being served were primarily alcoholics with criminal records and victims of domestic violence.

Alice’s goals are simply to have fun sharing stories that are entertaining and that hopefully have a meaningful message to a listener.

She likes telling on Zoom and in person. Zoom allows us to reach listeners that cannot be with us physically. She thinks that has been good for storytelling. Live performances do have the definite advantage of direct connection with the listeners. That reminds her of her years of public speaking and entertaining.

She appreciates the workshops MO-TELL offers at the in-person Missouri Liars Contest. As a novice and as a storyteller who has no ambition to become professional, Alice likes the contact and training by the members who have a wealth of expertise to share.

Alice has lived through some stressful chapters of life, but she is now living in the best chapter (in no small part due to her husband, Rich White). All experiences can come out

in story.

A Note from the President

Hello my friends,

My husband, Bob and I would have been fishing the last week in June, but I tested positive for Covid. I was terribly upset. I look forward to this trip every year. We meet up with another family and stay in a cabin on the Current River. It is the most relaxing week of my year. We fish, hike, bird watch, paint, read, pray, sleep, eat and of course tell lots of stories. The stories are the best part.

The Liars Contest is happening soon, and I will listen to stories, lots of stories. We will have so much fun. Our committee has packed a lot into this event.

There is a workshop, a story swap, the liars contest and a dance with wonderful music. All of this takes place within the walls of an historic building where we will experience the history of the 1904 World’s Fair of St. Louis. There is more. We will have an auction, a raffle and fun meals together. The best part is there will be more stories for you and for me. I can’t wait, especially now. I need to hear those stories.

I hope to see you there. Come for the tales and stay for the rest!

Keep your stories alive,

Joyce Slater

President of MO-TELL

“My father said whoever tells the longest story is always the liar. The truth isn’t that complicated.”

- Bill Joy