PORT TOWNSEND — Quimper Storytelling Guild will host featured storyteller Erran Sharpe of Port Angeles tonight for a program titled “Buddhist Jataka Tales.”
First Friday Storynight will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Port Townsend Friends Meetinghouse, 1841 Sheridan St.
Sharpe said that “for 2,000 years these stories have remained a font of wisdom; their simple teachings, often involving animals, have cultivated awareness in countless eager listeners.
“I have been using stories in my therapy practice for many years to illustrate growth, healing, and change,” he said in a press release.
Now drawn to also share stories with larger audiences, Sharpe is president of the Story People of Clallam County.
The Jataka tales that Sharpe will share date back to 300 B.C.
They may involve elephants, kings or outcasts whose troubles and challenges are transformed through virtues of an unlikely incarnation of Buddha.
In his previous lives, Sharpe has been a shy intellectual, a mountain goat roper, a sea kayaking companion of orcas and sea lions, a judgmental husband and a bike racer, he said, adding that he has not reached his birth of enlightenment yet, but is striving to share love and kindness as a husband, father, African drummer, therapist and storyteller.
Many folks on the Olympic Peninsula know Sharpe through drum circle leadership, or his service for events such as the Juan de Fuca Festival and monthly contra dances.
“Erran is a compelling storyteller who brings a rich genre of stories that captivate and inspire listeners,” said master of ceremonies and guild co-organizer Perry Spring.
The evening will continue with up to six short stories by attendee tellers; signup is on a first-come basis.
Spring will conclude the evening with a story-song in keeping with the theme.
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.
Now in its 10th season, the guild continues this storytelling performance event originated by Brian Rohr.
This is one of two monthly events the Quimper Storytelling Guild hosts to enhance the the craft of storytelling and the oral stories in the communities of Jefferson County.
The Guild also hosts a monthly Third Sunday StoryCrafting Story Swap for aspiring and experienced tellers to hone their craft in a supportive environment.
Held at the Port Townsend Library Learning Center, 1220 Lawrence St., the next swap will be at 2 p.m. Feb. 17.
Swap signup is on a first-come basis. Social time, refreshments, and guild business meeting follows from 3:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ QuimperStoryGuild/ email QuimperStoryGuild@gmail.com or call 360-316-9600.
