Story Paths

A little late to the party, I watched the movie Avatar, and was both pleased and horrified. Pleased with the theme of connecting to a living planet. Horrified that the planet's native people became secondary to the saviour outsider.
Today I get together with my friends Elisa and Blair to discuss the victories and downfalls of this film, and to make some suggestions for improving the sequels.

Share this podcast with a friend by copying this link: https://storypaths.buzzsprout.com/

 To be notified about upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here. 

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Blair Francis is a songwriter friend who I've only recently met. In this conversation we speak about the place of songs in growing culture.

You can find the music of Blair and his partner Elisa on bandcamp and youtube, on these links:
https://elisaandblair.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/%C3%89lisaandBlair

Share this podcast with a friend by copying this link: https://storypaths.buzzsprout.com/

 To be notified about upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here. 

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

A spoken word piece.

 To be notified about upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here. 

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Here's simple a song I've been working for a while.

 To be notified about upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here. 

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

For this episode I'm sharing a song that my lovely wife wrote as a poem, and which I adapted to music. I hope you like it. You can find more of her poetry, as well as her earthy artwork, on @seedsofspells on instagram.
Words:
 How did we lose our way of walking hand-in-hand with this world?
 I can remember the ocean sang me to sleep, as I cried salty sorrow on her sands.
 I can remember her heartbeat upon my cheek, and a rockabye lullaby sinking into my weary bones.
 I can remember the hold of her humus womb, tethering my spirit to her soil.
 I can remember the peace before we waged war within ourselves. What more have I to say than this?

Pay no mind to the critic hushing your spirit. Do not lend his harsh hand your underbelly. Save your softness for the song that longs for your voice still.

As her spirit may be spoken, ever through you, never by you.

Silence your sermons of fear. Sweep your broken bits from the floor. Weave her words within your tattered skin, as tender tendrils trellising up every vertebrae of your spine.

Beckon her to rest and stay a while.

As her spirit may be spoken, ever through you, never by you.

Sing her song

 To be notified about upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here. 

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Tom Hirons is an oral storyteller, poet, acupuncturist, wilderness vigil guide and storytelling teacher, to name a few roles. I've taken three of his classes, and found him to be a wise and warm guide into stories and storytelling. Something he said piqued my interest, the idea that stories exist in layers, from primeaval myths to everyday gossip. He unpacks this concept, and we consider different metaphors that might hold this.
We also touch on grief, initiation into becoming an adult, and ecological collapse.
You can find out more about Tom's work and see some beauitful publications that he's made along with his partner in art and life, Rima Staines.

https://hedgespoken.org/
https://tomhirons.com/

Share this podcast with a friend by copying this link: https://storypaths.buzzsprout.com/

To be notified about our own upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here. 

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Have you ever had an argument where you feel like your opponent has a glaring gaps in their world-view, but they refuse to look at it? How about whole groups of people who defend their gaps? How about a particular species that both you and I may be part of?
In this episode I explore how this phenomenon shows up in fiction and fact.

 To be notified about our own upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here.  

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

This is a  fascinating conversation. Jessie Wild guides her young drama students into building empathy through enacting powerful real-life stories. Have a listen, you won't regret it.

Jessie Wild is a mum, drama teacher, apprentice storyteller and lifelong enthusiast of learning (everything and anything). She became obsessed with both Shakespeare and Greek myth and tragedy at around 12 years old. The logical path seemed to be acting but having trained, first at uni then at drama school, she realised what she was most passionate about was the exploration period of rehearsals- the learning and growing. She toured extensively doing Shakespeare in UK schools and realised how powerful education in the arts truly is - hence her step into teaching. She is now a secondary school drama teacher of ages 11-18.
You can find her here on instagram.

To be notified about our own upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here.  

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

Here's a story that me and my good buddy Jaya made up on the fly.
He was having some troubles with time hiccups, you see, abberations in his experience of time, so I took him to see an alien time specialist to help with the problem. The solution wasn't what he hoped for...

 To be notified about our own upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here.  

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe

I interview my sister Phoebe, who is a practicing Nasarean Essene. Some might call the Essenes alternative Christians, but they would say that Christianity wed to empire is the alternative religion. Alternative, that is, to the radically peaceful and loving teachings of Jesus. My sister actually prefers to call him Yeshua.
The Essenes have their own bible, the Holy Megillah, and within this lies a telling of the story of Adam and Eve that may surprise, relieve and enlighten you.
This is the first of a two episode series, though only God and Goddess know when the second one will air.

Share this podcast with a friend by copying this link: https://storypaths.buzzsprout.com/

 To be notified about our own upcoming creative writing and art workshops, sign up for the Story Paths mailing list here.  

Trailer for Creative Writing: Brainstorming Story Ideas
Link to the course and a free month on Skillshare.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit storypaths.substack.com/subscribe