It's a common belief among storytellers that storytelling is the most important facet of humanity, which is a very understandable bias for us to have. And, while branding it the absolute pinnacle of human nature might be a bit indulgent, there's something dizzyingly awe-inspiring about the endless chain of tales and legends that links us through a hundred thousand years of forgotten names and vanished lives. Our roots run deep and dark through the forgotten places of history - stories so old we don't even realize how old they are.
—Red, Overly Sarcastic Productions (Legends Summarized: The Epic of Gilgamesh).
♫ I'm the Storyteller, and my stories must be told.
I have many stories, tales for both the young and old.
I have many voices to describe many places
Many names have I, and many faces... ♫
I have many stories, tales for both the young and old.
I have many voices to describe many places
Many names have I, and many faces... ♫
—John, The Storyteller, Storybook International Animated Credits Opening
Literature (Non-Fiction)
"Storytelling is an ancient form. Although its evolution cannot be precisely documented, the telling of stories is an old practice, so old, in fact, that it seems almost as natural as using oral language."
—Norma J. Livo, Sandra A. Rietz, Storytelling: Process and Practice (1986)
"Storytelling is an ancient art form, an integral part of human existence, and the most enduring form of education. It is an accessible and creative form of communicating and reflecting upon experience, both real and imagined ..."
—Teresa Grainger, Traditional story telling in the primary classroom (1997)
Somos el homo sapiens porque somos el homo narrans. Nuestra naturaleza es la narración.note
—José María Merino, El narrador narrado (2002)
"Tens of thousands of years ago, when the human mind was young and our numbers were few, we were telling one another stories. And now, tens of thousands of years later, when our species teems across the globe, most of us still hew strongly to myths about the origins of things, and we still thrill to an astonishing multitude of fictions on pages, onstages, and on screens—murder stories, sex stories, war stories, conspiracy stories, true stories and false. We are, as a species, addicted to story. Even when the body goes to sleep, the mind stays up all night, telling itself stories."
—Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (2012)
"Humans are creatures of Neverland. Neverland is our evolutionary niche, our special habitat. We are attracted to Neverland because, on the whole, it is good for us. It nourishes our imaginations; it reinforces moral behavior; it gives us safe worlds to practice inside. Story is the glue of human social life—defining groups and holding them together. We live in Neverland because we can’t not live in Neverland. Neverland is our nature. We are the storytelling animal."
—Jonathan Gottschall, The Storytelling Animal: How Stories Make Us Human (2012)
Live-Action TV
I remember the night of the shooting stars when that coyote, Dwight, came into our lives and all sorts of wonderful things began to happen, stories beyond belief. But there was no one to tell them. And that's when the mysterious storyteller, Hector Longhouse, arrived. He, too, came on the night of shooting stars and began to tell our stories for all the world to hear.
When people told themselves their past with stories, explained their present with stories, and foretold their future with stories, the best place by the fire was kept for... the Storyteller.