Tejas Storytelling Association
Reviewed By Jeri Calcote
Marquis, Mike and Solina. "Tejas (Texas) Storytelling Association."
Webmasters Mike & Solina Marquis assembled the site. Their e-mail address is at tejasstorytelling.com so they are probably biased, but the purpose of the site is to promote the association and its upcoming events. They are members of the association so I am sure they ensure the information they have is up to date and accurate so those who are interested will be informed.
It is a commercial site promoting the association and asking for sponsors, but there are many e-mail links throughout for various officials and members so that interested parties may contact them.
The site currently focuses on its upcoming festival in Denton. It currently includes information provided by featured the storytellers themselves and the web masters have designed a special page for each one with a photo, biography and descriptions of that tellers' particular style and focus.
Minor updates were made as recently as today with the last major one made in December 1999. Since the festival appears to be an annual event, I assume major updates must deal with overall design while minor ones relate to content.
The information presented is factual. As I said, it focuses mostly on the upcoming festival with the festival's logo and associated links on the home page. Links provide the following information:
when it is where to stay instructions for those bringing students on field trips directions on where to park each event and its site with addresses and directions to each a schedule of storytellers and their focus for each day of the festival artwork promoting the festival and where you can purchase it a press and media guide to the festival how to become a sponsor and/or make a difference for this and future festivals
The site also has a page listing Texas Teller Archives, their online newsletter, with articles on storytelling, authors and other resources. Links are provided to other storytelling web sites (called the Storytelling Ring). A page on the association's mission and history outlines its purpose and main activities. Interested parties can also link to a membership form. A listing of guilds, or local clubs throughout the state, is also maintained with contact and meeting information for each.
Some of the material has been printed in paper form through flyers, mailings and posters, as evidenced by the sale of festival artwork.
All in all, I think this site would be a very useful starting point for any librarian looking to organize his/her own storytelling event.
Reviewed By: Brenda Kuehl
The name of the site is the Tejas Storytelling Association.
The address is http://www.tejasstorytelling.com/
This association was formed in 1987. TSA is based in Denton,Texas and sponsors the Texas Storytelling Festival and the Texas Conference on Storytelling. This association believes that "storytelling is the art and tradition of passing folktales, family history, legends, ghost tales, and some downright lies from one generation to the next." This is the statement they make on their mission and history page. The organization lists board members but does not give their credentials. An e-mail address, phone number, and fax number is listed on the bottom of the homepage. No information is given in regards to funding either. There is however a list of sponsors, the first being the city of Denton. One could ascertain that the credibility of this organization must be evident in order for them to be sponsored by the city. Further information could probably obtained through one of these sources. This being a local organization, it is easier make inquiries. This site had a minor update on October 19,2002 and a major update on Decemeber 13,1999. The site provides current information concerning storytelling events. The listings posted give links for further information and some have additional names to contact and e-mail addresses and phone numbers. This site also provides an invaluable resource for teachers. On this page links to other storytelling resources are made available.
Reviewed By: Julia Selwyn
This site features storytelling links and opportunities
for storytellers in Texas. Founded in 1987, the Tejas
Storytelling Association’s (TSA) mission is to bring
folklorists and storytellers together, to share their
craft with audiences, and pass stories from generation
to generation. They have good authority and are a
well-established and esteemed organization in the
storytelling community, with ample contact information.
The site includes festivals, featured storytellers,
articles and reviews. The Tejas Storytelling
Association is located in Denton, Texas and provides
contact information for storyteller listings, questions,
or TSA membership. The coverage is quite expansive of
the storytelling field yet the site seems intimate and
easy to access.
One of the largest storytelling festivals in Texas is
hosted by the organization, and the site previews
featured storytellers and their skills. The 18th annual
storytelling festival will take place in Denton, TX from
March 20-23 2003 in Denton’s Civic Center Park. The
description of individual storytellers was fascinating,
and I enjoyed seeing their photographs, which captured
their movements and storytelling personalities. Each
biography of the performer featured ethnic or community
background, publications or recordings, experience in
storytelling, awards or recognitions, and storytelling
specialty (puppets, music, etc). The storytellers
varied widely in age and background and would appeal to
a general audience in a very personal way. To find more
information on storytellers outside of the festival, a
visitor to the site can view the archives or
storytellers in the news, links that provide interesting
background on storytelling in Texas. I noticed that one
of my favorite Native American storytellers, Tim Tingle,
was listed on the “storytellers in the news.” While
there is always some bias in reviews (calling into
effect questions of objectivity), I felt that enough
information was archived so that a viewer had different
perspectives of the storytellers. Storytellers could
also include their own information is they felt they had
a negative review that was inaccurate.
The TSA website provides links and resources for
teachers, particularly in the Dallas/ Denton area. A
link to student field trip day (SFTD) provided
educational resources for teachers who want to take
students to the storytelling festival. Since state
education rules provide that classrooms must go on
several field trips a year, this is a welcome invitation
for teachers in the Dallas/ Ft. Worth area. The link
provides FAQ information for teachers or parents, an
interary, and information that needs to be provided by
the child or school. An online form is provided for
convenience. Further educator resources are found under
“Teacher Resources,” where a handy page of links to the
Internet School Library Media Center, The Story
Connection, and others provide lesson plans and creative
ideas for teachers. I would expand this part of the
site to include more resources, especially thematic
reference materials that teachers can use to locate
folklore stories in their classrooms.
In their “upcoming events” section, Texas storytelling
festivals (at the time of this review) were listed for
McAllen, Cedar Creek, Sherman, San Antonio, and Denton,
providing a wide range of geographic areas for
storytelling fans. It was hard for me to establish the
accuracy of these dates without going to the events, but
the listed events were all current and the site appeared
to be well updated. Links to regional affiliate
storytelling associations are provided, for the novice
or experienced storyteller who would like to be part of
a community network. Membership to the TSA or Tejas
Association will provide a storyteller with an
established network of information and bi-monthly
newsletters, as well as a special members rate for the
yearly festival in Denton. This organization certainly
provides a virtual community for Texas storytellers and
is an extremely valuable resource.