PORT TOWNSEND — While winter’s chill lingers, stories as colorful as the early blossoms of Japanese plum trees will be painted through words, imagery and humor of the featured teller tonight at First Friday StoryNight, organizers promise.
Quimper Storytelling Guild will host Tobey Ishi-Anderson of Olympia at 7 tonight at the Port Townsend Friends Meetinghouse, 1841 Sheridan St.
Ishi-Anderson will share stories gathered from diverse cultures on the three continents on which she has lived: Asia, Europe and North America.
Her program, “Achi Kochi: here and there stories,” will draw from her childhood memories of aunties sharing stories of their life in WWII U.S. internment camps, her travels as a Peace Corps volunteer and educator and tall tales derived from her passion for the art of casting flies and authoring stories for a Pacific Northwest fishing magazine.
Achi Kochi, a Japanese phrase meaning “here and there” and “from place-to-place,” encapsulates the spectrum of experiences that Ishi-Anderson stories convey.
Personal stories and Japanese folktales told at family gatherings captivated the storyteller in her youth.
“Be careful what you say; this one has big ears,” family members exclaimed.
Her love for listening to these tales was the fertile ground that sowed the seeds for her development into a master teller and allowed her to carry on her family’s tradition.
She is known as a “Third Culture Kid” primarily because her father’s work in the State Department resulted in her spending significant portions of her childhood in Malaysia and Japan.
This combined with her own work as an international school teacher and Peace Corps volunteer, allowed her to learn stories from many different cultures.
Upon returning to United States, Ishi-Anderson and her husband embraced the culture of Olympia.
She ventured into the waters of Pacific Northwest fly fishing.
“Aiming, casting the line and letting the damselfly land in the flow of the river is like the movement and stream of events involved in crafting a good story,” she said.
As an active participant in the South Sound Storytelling Guild for many years, Ishi-Anderson has told tales at annual Tellabrations, been awarded for her performance in a Liar’s Contest, and featured at other regional storytelling venues.
She writes for Northwest Sportsman, where she collects inspirations that enhance her talents as a teller of tall tales.
Now in its 10th season, First Friday StoryNight is a communal exploration of the art and ritual of the oral tradition including the old myths, folktales, fairy tales, ballads, family, personal and modern stories.
The evening program also includes a set of short stories told by diverse range of tellers who sign up upon arrival and a closing story-song connected to the evening’s theme by Perry Spring.
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/QuimperStoryGuild, call 360-316-9600 or email QuimperStoryGuild@gmail.com.
