Coffee with Questions – Art and Storytelling

On July 10, 2016 Coffee with Questions met to discuss “STORYTELLING: ORAL TRADITIONS, MYTHOLOGY, LITERATURE AND MORE” which continued our 5-week discussion series that will culminate in the Celebration of Art, July 30-31, at the church.

Therese Hart, professor in the Humanities Department at Harper College in Palatine, led our discussion as we drew on art, literature, music, theater and philosophy.

Where do our “Spiritual Tales” come from any why are we still drawn to this form of listening to them aloud?  Why do we, generation after generation, engage in the re-telling of these stories?  Do the stories change with re-telling?  What would cause a change?  Does the underlying meaning of the story change?

Is it comforting or unnerving when you hear a story, from a tradition other than which you were raised, that is similar to the one you know?  What might that similarity suggest?  Are enduring questions universal?

What is the more powerful form of storytelling for us today: an oral recitation, reading a work of literature or a newspaper, attending a theatrical performance or movie, or watching television?  Does the engagement with the form of storytelling change depending on the maturity of an individual, the passivity of the person…or something else?

These questions and more were explored during the discussion. Click on the link below to listen to the discussion and plan to join us next week.

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