Events

VERBAND DER ERZÄHLERINNEN UND ERZÄHLER

Professional storytellers live from the uniqueness, irretrievability and inimitability of what they tell and above all how they tell it. The VEE is an association of freelance storytellers; its purpose is to represent their interests and to promote and cultivate art and culture, primarily oral storytelling. Our aim is to create recognition and long-term security for the professional image of the narrator. Professional Storyteller The profession of storyteller seemed to be almost extinct due to written literature and only in some native cultures does it live on until today. Oral storytelling passes on the culture, values and rules of society through the oral transmission of traditional stories. For more than two decades this art of oral storytelling has been experiencing a renaissance. More and more people find it important to keep narrative material alive not only in written form but also through oral narration. Through own interpretation Storytellers bring literary texts back into oral communication. Storytellers revive historical events. Storytellers shed light on the most diverse biographies. Storytellers create their own stories, true, invented or off the cuff. Storytellers pass on what they have heard and experienced. Storytellers combine storytelling with other arts. Storytellers create business stories. Storytellers explain stories about complicated scientific phenomena or point out social and historical contexts. Without books or scripts, solely through language, expression and gestures, the storyteller gives the stories a unique liveliness and individual interpretation. Guardian of the tradition As storytellers, we preserve old stories and the truths they contain and/or rediscover them. We find new stories of our own or interpret handed-down stories in an individual way. Whatever the background or perspective from which we tell stories, we are grateful and full of esteem for our predecessors and see ourselves as guardians of the tradition of storytelling and the associated transmission of oral knowledge. Narrative Art The Verband der Erzählerinnen und Erzähler e.V. distinguishes between narrative culture, storytelling in families, among friends and the art of storytelling. Narrative art means the performing narration on stages, the salutary narration as well as the applied narration in one’s own profession as well as in the social environment. Educational storytelling is becoming increasingly important in kindergartens, schools and socio-cultural institutions through storytelling projects, storytelling workshops, intercultural encounters, etc. Also in the business world, storytelling, e.g. of company stories or as a marketing method “storytelling” is becoming more and more popular.