ISU Bengal

Issue date: 2/22/06 Section: Life

In the old days, before 'American Idol' , e-Bay and the iPod- people actually told stories to each other for entertainment. Each community would have one or two popular storytellers - esteemed by all for their ability to weave a tale. Stories were often about community traditions or morals and sometimes just something funny for a laugh. Where are those storytellers from long ago today?

The greater Pocatello area will have the opportunity to listen and meet one of these storytellers, as nationally recognized storyteller and author Joe Hayes visits the Gate City next Monday. The ISU Bellon Visiting Author Conference will be featuring Hayes as the main guest for their conference on February 27th and 28th.

Hayes is a New Mexico Eminent Scholar who earned a BA from the University of Arizona in English Literature.

"[Haye's] tales are a combination of the traditional lore of the American Southwest and his own imagination. The traditional part is based on things people have told him and on what he has learned from reading the work of folklorists and anthropologists. Joe's own contribution is based on his instincts as a storyteller and what his experience tells him listeners need in order to feel satisfied with a story," according to the Cinco Puntos Press, Hayes' publisher.

The Bengal contacted Hayes before his visit to Pocatello next week to ask him a few questions :



Bengal : What is the cultural significance of your work? 

Hayes: I worry more about the personal significance of my work more than the cultural significance. I want to give people (mostly kids) a pleasant, satisfying experience by listening to or reading my stories. I do notice, though, that when I tell a story with Spanish in it, or that come from Hispanic tradition, Hispanic kids will demonstrate a sense of pride, and that always makes me happy. I feel like that's a real contribution. On the other hand, feel that sometimes kids who aren't familiar with Hispanic traditions or don't know any Spanish are opened up to the culture and the language by the pleasant experience of the stories, and that too makes me happy



Bengal : What makes you want to write bilingual  children's books?

Hayes: I wanted to write books in both English and Spanish because I meet so many kids who are learning one language or the other-Spanish-speaking kids who are learning English and English-Speaking kids who are learning Spanish. I wanted to lend them a hand. I also meet a lot of kids whose parents speak only Spanish, but who are reading English at school. I wanted them to be able to take a book home and have their parents read to them in the language that's most comfortable.

Continued...

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