“Stories show up on their own. They’re one of our oldest natural and spontaneous languages. You don’t have to have any artistic skill to tell them. You just need to be brave and sincere.” Lynda Barry
“Oral expression can exist and mostly has existed without any writing at all, writing never without orality.” Walter Ong
Why do we tell stories?
What’s the stories only I can tell?
How can voice carry a narrative?
How does sound create intimacy, urgency, the self?
Why do we tell stories? What are the stories only I can tell? How can voice carry a narrative? How does sound create intimacy, urgency, the self? This senior seminar will explore the history of storytelling from preliterate times to now, specifically looking at first person POVs in fiction. We’ll look at how developments in technology and literacy affect first person POVs in our fiction, as well as how this influences our understanding of what it means to be human, conscious of self and others. This seminar will culminate in a fiction workshop of a voice driven short story inspired by the hidden orality in our lives and the lives of our characters. We’re going to be listening a lot, documenting a lot, and finding the power and beauty in spoken sounds.
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:15
Prof. Ashleigh Phillips
ENG 4550-101: Roots of Storytelling: Orality & Voice in Fiction - Phillips (Spring 2023)
