HeyJaredMore Storytelling Notes
Storyteller Priscilla Howe muses, rambles and comments on the art and practice of storytelling--the old fashioned way, out loud with an audience. She'll tell a few stories. Guest interviews will be forthcoming, too.
- Indexed issues, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 27, 2026
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- Earliest in this view
- Jul 12, 2026
Latest issues
The Nixie in the Millpond (opens the original)
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On Friday, I told Grimm tales for grownups in my backyard. It rained for most of the day, but the skies cleared enough for a small group of intrepid souls to sit in my damp backyard to listen to stories. Here’s one of the stories I told, The Nixie in the Millpond. More Storytelling Notes is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.<form class="subscription-widge
Story endings (opens the original)
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Snip, snap, snout, this tale’s told out.That’s the ending of the Asbjørnsen and Moe version of The three billy goats gruff, and it’s one of my favorite story endings. For years, it was the end of my voice mail message!<sour
Once upon a time (opens the original)
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In English folktales, we often use “Once upon a time…” to begin stories. Or there’s “Long, long ago, and far, far away…” In some cultures, there’s a call-and-response to the beginning of stories, such as in Haiti. There, the storyteller calls out, “Cric!” and if the audience answers with a resounding enough “Crac!” the story can begin. I’ve always been fascinated by other cultures’ story starters. Here are some of my favorites:From Barbados, Once upon a time, a very long time, monkeys chewed tob
Lost in translation (opens the original)
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When I lived in Bulgaria in the 80s, I made many language mistakes. Once, I told my roommate that there was a huge turkey on the ceiling—I had confused the words for turkey and spider (puiyka vs payak). I also told her that there were lots of lighters for sports in my hometown. The word for lighter, zapalka, is similar to fan, zapalianka (makes sense—both are all fired up). A friend who was also studying Bulgarian introduced me to her new acquaintance, Azli. His name really was Turakti— “Az, li?
Baba and her rooster (opens the original)
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I was thinking about helpers in stories the other day. The rooster in this Bulgarian folktale is certainly a helper, while the cat next door is, well…a cat. If you like this one, you’ll find more stories like it on my bedtime story subscription pages here on Substack and on Patreon. The same stories are in both places. Most are behind a paywall, but there are plenty of fr
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