Conversations With Storytellers

Welcome to part two of my conversation with British storyteller, Amy Douglas. If you haven’t listened to part one, I would recommend you do. It will introduce you to Amy, and how she ended up here. Amy lives in Shropshire, England, and has been telling stories since she was a wee lass. In this, part two, of my conversation with Amy, we talk about Duncan Williamson, the Norse myths, in particular, Freya, and the Northern Lights. We start off with how Amy discovered she came from a background of travelers and go on to talk about how there are parts of the land which have been tamed and there’s the wild landscapes too, and how they influence our work. Amy Douglas was introduced to storytelling at a very young age. She was telling stories to strangers by the time she was 14, and after college and a career in colour polymer moved to her true passion of storytelling. Amy was part of the initial team who started Festival at the Edge in Shropshire, has worked in radio, and met some incredible people who she has worked with and mentored under. Amy’s website is: https://amydouglas.com/ And her own podcast called, Taking the Tradition On can be found here: https://takingthetraditionon.libsyn.com/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpcvx1G7TUAbeZU80cJJX8g where there are a few more episodes!

Amy Douglas and I met on-line during the COVID pandemic, and then I went to visit her on a recent trip to the UK.  We got on really well, and I felt that people out there, really need to hear her voice and know more about her.  Amy Douglas was introduced to storytelling at a very young age. She was telling stories to strangers by the time she was 14, and after college and a career in colour polymer moved to her true passion of storytelling. Amy was part of the initial team who started Festival at the Edge in Shropshire, has worked in radio, and met some incredible people who she has worked with and mentored under. Amy did not realise that her family has deep roots in the traveler tradition and discovered this after working with traveler storyteller Duncan Williamson. We get into Amy’s work in the traveler traditions and mythic work in part two. Amy’s website is: https://amydouglas.com/ And her own podcast called, Taking the Tradition On can be found here: https://takingthetraditionon.libsyn.com/ and here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpcvx1G7TUAbeZU80cJJX8g where there are a few more episodes!  

This Conversation is with Mary Hamilton who is a storytelling veteran of 42 years at this point (2025). She has written a book on Kentucky folk tales, through a fellowship, and has won a number of awards, including the Kentucky School Media Association for her work in schools. Mary is not just a storyteller but also a producer. We talk about hard stories, and braiding stories and self-reflection. This conversation talks about Mary’s work, other storytellers, mentors, practice, and process. Right now, Mary is “getting stories out of [her] mouth” as she prepares for the Cave Run Festival and Timpanogos where she and I are two of the many storytellers who will be performing in Lehi, Utah. Mary’s website: https://maryhamilton.info/ And some folks and events which Mary mentions in this conversation. Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, 4th - 6th September, 2025: https://timpfest.org/ Cave Run, 26th - 27th Sept, 2025: https://www.caverunstoryfest.org/ Liz Lerman’s website (critical response): https://lizlerman.com Doug Lipman’s website: https://storydynamics.com/ Laura Simms’ website: https://www.laurasimms.com/ Indivisible: https://indivisible.org/ 50501: https://www.fiftyfifty.one/ I hope you enjoy this episode!

It's smoking hot today, Tuesday 24th. For June we are breaking all records so far. It's 33 degrees C, 92 degrees F. Although the humidity started high at 77%, it has dropped down to 50 % for which the pets and myself are thankful. Moe and I did not get to do a big walk because of this, however, we did find a pool which kept us cool, at least for a while! This old folktale "Three Heads in the Well" can be found in Joseph Jacobs', English Fairy Tales, 1898 (from Halliwell chapbook - page 158). Have you ever found anything unusual in a well or pool? Stay safe out there! Simon

Hello friends! Here we are with our latest episode of Conversations with Storytellers. I think/hope you will like this episode, and if you are traveling this weekend, it will keep you, hopefully, entertained for a little more than an hour. And if you are not traveling, same thing applies! Margaret Read MacDonald - what isn't there to say about her - storyteller, writer, librarian, inspiration, source of so many stories and super lady! She has traveled broadly around the world gathering and listening to stories from other tellers and as a result has over 67 published books, and over 13 awards for her extensive work. Margaret has an MA in Library Science, another in Education, a PhD in folklore and is the recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship. She is also the mother of two storytellers! For some strange and annoying reason my mic was crackling, so I apologise for that. Please welcome, Margaret Read MacDonald! www.margaretreadmacdonald.com/