Storyteller Odds Bodkin and Harvard folklorist Maria Tatar explore the art of the story in the 21st century. Telling stories is an ancient art, a holdover from the pre-literate human past. How did the advent of the written word affect the art of storytelling and the stories themselves? Why does oral storytelling persist? What impact will the digital culture of wikis and filesharing have on the future of storytelling?
Maria Tatar, chair of Folklore and Mythology and the John L. Loeb Professor of Germanic Languages and Literatures at Harvard University, is editor of *The Annotated Classic Fairy Tales*. The author of books on the Brothers Grimm, on fairy tales (*The Hard Facts of the Grimms' Fairy Tales* and *Off with Their Heads!*), and on the cultural impact of mesmerist theories and practices of 19th and 20th century literature, she has also authored Lustmord, which explores the theme of sexual violence in the literature, film, and art of the Weimar period in Germany. In addition, she has edited an anthology of fairy tales published as a Norton Critical Edition. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Odds Bodkin is a storyteller and musician who has published original tales as well as interpretations of traditional tales. He tours nationally and internationally, performing for schools, theaters, museums, and festivals. He has performed at the White House and the National Storytelling Festival.