E9 | Jan Blake | Honouring Stories: The Art of Custodianship & Deep Listening
“The most important thing is to give life to the stories and see how far you are able to go in service of the stories.”
Here is an audio version.
A video version can be found below.
In this episode, we delve into the art and essence of storytelling, emphasising the significance of stewarding stories with a sense of custodianship, rather than merely portraying the role of a 'storyteller'. Our guest, Jan, shares her journey and insights into how storytelling has shaped her life and creative expression. We reflect on the significant responsibility of honouring the voices, experiences, landscapes, and cosmologies present within a story, even those of morally complex or treacherous character. Jan discusses the necessity of listening deeply and embracing vulnerability, authenticity, and presence in the storytelling process. Throughout our conversation, we reflect on the ways stories serve as a bridge to our collective memory, culture, and humanity. Jan’s perspective challenges us to look beyond the surface, recognize our shared human capacity for both darkness and transformation, and appreciate the beauty and messiness of the human experience. Jan also shares a couple of captivating stories, leaving us with profound contemplations and queries into the nature of being human.
Find Thematic Show Notes Below
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Thematic Show Notes
Custodianship of Stories:
Emphasise the role of being a custodian of a story rather than just a storyteller.
Importance of deeply listening to a story to tell it authentically.
Honouring the landscape, cosmology, and people of the story, including morally complex characters.
Avoiding moral high ground; understanding the universal human capacity for any action in a story.
Authenticity and Presence:
The necessity of being fully present and vulnerable in storytelling.
Balancing identity and authenticity in storytelling.
Storytelling as a means of self-repair and personal growth.
Identity and Background:
Jan’s background as a second-generation Caribbean diasporic woman in England and its influence on her storytelling.
The intersection of personal and cultural history in shaping a storyteller's voice.
Challenges and Growth in Storytelling:
Overcoming academic pressures and external judgments to embrace storytelling.
The importance of improvisational readiness and being present in the moment.
How lived experiences deepen the meaning and impact of stories.
Community and Cultural Memory:
The relationship between community and storytelling.
Stories as memories that remind us of what we risk losing.
The role of storytelling in culture-making within the mundane and ordinary aspects of life.
Embracing Complexity and Messiness:
Recognizing the impact of colonialist narratives on stories.
Accepting the messiness of life and the human condition.
Wrestling with fundamental darkness and highest self, and the importance of this struggle.
Transformation, Impact, and Wildness:
Human capacity for transformation and the significance of individual impact.
Reflecting on what 'wildness' means in the context of Jan's identity and experiences.