A Season's Griot

This year, A Season's Griot celebrates the National Association of Black Storytellers, Incorporated, on their silver anniversary. The group was founded twenty-five years ago by two extraordinary women -- Linda Goss and Mother Mary Carter Smith. Mother Mary passed away earlier this year, but she is remembered in our program through her colorful stories and the vibrant memories of Goss, who joins us as our special guest.

Stories in this year's program include Linda Goss telling The Frog Who Wanted to Sing, about following one's dreams in the face of frustration, and Mother Mary's Cindy Ella, a certain fairytale re-imaged in 1980s Baltimore. A Season's Griot is hosted by storyteller and musician Madafo Lloyd Wilson.

HOST:

Madafo Lloyd Wilson

Madafo Lloyd Wilson has worked as a storyteller and musician for 25 years. Following in the footsteps of the griot (a West African word for storyteller) Wilson shares the vibrant traditions of African and African American folklore. To the delight of audiences throughout the U.S., East and West Africa, and Europe, he combines traditional and contemporary tales with original music that is also mixture of styles and periods.

Whether performing in schools, libraries, or churches, at cultural festivals, weddings, or funerals, whether in concert halls, studios, nightclubs, or under shade trees, Wilson shares tales that are ageless and that speak to all cultures and ethnicities.

Featured Guests:

Linda Goss, Co-Founder of NABS

Born near the Smoky Mountains in Alcoa, Tennessee, NABS co-founder Linda Goss currently lives in Philadelphia, where she is the "Official Storyteller of the City."

A pioneer and one of the leading experts in contemporary storytelling, Goss, with Mother Mary, co-founded In the Tradition..., the National Black Storytelling Festival and Conference. She was the first president of NABS, serving from 1984 to 1991. She is a founding member of Keepers of the Culture, an affiliate of NABS, and a founding member of Patchwork: A Storytelling Guild.

Goss has written numerous books and edited several anthologies, including Jump up and Say, which was selected by the Book of the Month Club's Quality Paperback Division, and Talk that Talk, selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best paperbacks of 1990.

Mary Carter Smith, Co-Founder of NABS

Co-founder of the National Association of Black Storytellers (NABS), Mama Mary was a modern griot whose career was inspired by the black cultural outpouring of the 1960s and her concern over racial misunderstanding. She thus wrote her statement of purpose:

Misunderstanding abounds. It has no special resting place. Rich and poor, majority and minority, young and old, black and white; all feel the sting of being misunderstood. And there are many people using many ways trying to lead us to a better understanding of each other. I am among those who fight misunderstanding. The weapons I use are stories, drama, songs, poetry, and laughter. I bring entertainment with a purpose.

Her extensive repertoire of stories, poems, and dramatic sketches were drawn from experiences in her hometown of Birmingham, Alabama, from time spent in Kentucky, West Virginia, and Ohio, and from Baltimore, where she spent much of her life. Her performances were enriched by her career as a teacher, librarian and activist, and by extensive travel throughout the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Africa.

Carter Smith passed away earlier this year and is honored during the show through her stories and the memories of her co-founder.

Purchase CDs:

CDs of A Season's Griot 2007 are available for $15. You can send a check or money order made out to WHQR to:

A Season's Griot
WHQR
254 N. Front St.
Wilmington, NC 28401

Please include your return address and specify that this is for A Season's Griot 2007. Allow four to five weeks for delivery. CDs of some past years are also available. Please send in inquiries to the email address below.

If you have questions or comments about the program, please email the producer, Megan Williams, at mwilliams@whqr.org.

Further Resources: