Catching Stories : a poem

Catching Stories

I had the pleasure of studying with the authors of this book.  In the 2010 summer we explored what it meant to “catch stories.”  We owe a great deal to the oral story catchers of the world.  Here is a poem acknowledging their work.  We invite you to write your thanks to the story catchers in your life.

By Kevin Cordi

(In honor of the Oral History Institute at Kenyon College)

To grasp, hold, secure, never let go,   reach out to reach in

stories fly around the world, city, neighborhood, front door

fast, furious, sometimes deliberate but

You stand at the ready, equip with tools

To ask, ponder, inquire, wonder, to spark curiosity

To ask again, to listen more,

 to be there

When the story flies.

To be there

When it lands,

To make sure

it arrives safely to a place

that cares for it.

You are those care takers, those story

keepers who stand at the ready for the

oral history of today and tomorrow.

Where another toss can be thrown.

Another story pitched,

And because of you

 It is not forgotten.

It again lands in warm hands, polishing and buffeting it so that

the original gloss shines

Forming a living archive of memory, reflection,

recollection.

You know the value of rewind.

Transcribed from old devices, notes, words, sounds,

So that it stands as it once was,

A story, old yet fresh and new. 

Eager listeners wait to hear it again.

Catching the stories, throw, release,

retrieve,

the collection grows.

Another story is thrown

And you are there.