African Diaspora at Internet Archive: August House / American Storytelling

I wrote about the great Jackie Torrence yesterday, and I have another of her books today: The Importance of Pot Liquor.

The book is a blend of autobiography and storytelling, built around stories from her grandpa (A Ghost Story ~ Br'er Rabbit Builds a Home ~ Br'er Rabbit Gets Caught ~ Br'er Rabbit and the Little Brown Jug), her grandma (Br'er Rabbit Goes Hunting ~ Mammy Bammy Big Money ~ Br'er Rabbit Pays His Respects ~ The Legend of Annie Christmas), and then her own stories (The Wonderful Tar Baby ~ Elvira and Henry ~ Br'er Possum's Dilemma ~ Br'er Rabbit Outsmarts the Frogs).

This book is part of the American Storytelling series from August House (one of my favorite publishers of storytelling books), and I want to share another great book in that series: African-American Folktales for Young Readers by Richard Young and Judy Dockrey Young.

You'll find over 30 stories in this book from 9 different storytellers, including Jackie Torrence (!), and also Len Cabral, who I've blogged about before too: Storyteller Len Cabral.

So, lots of Jackie stories and more stories too; enjoy! It's all just a click away at the Internet Archive, thanks to the power of Controlled Digital Lending.

 The Importance of Pot Liquor
by Jackie Torrence

African-American Folktales for Young Readers

by Richard Young and Judy Dockrey Young

African Diaspora at Internet Archive: Jackie Tales

To get the new week started (with a government holiday in honor of Juneteenth this Monday too!), I've got a fabulous book to share by the great storyteller Jackie Torrence: Jackie Tales: The Magic of Creating Stories and the Art of Telling Them.

You'll find sixteen stories here, including some Brer Rabbit! The Big Hairy Toe / The Yellow Ribbon / The Ring / Soldier Jack / Jack and Hardy Hardhead / Jack's Trip to Hell / Br'er Rabbit Builds a House / Br'er Possum's Dilemma / Br'er Rabbit Outsmarts the Frogs / The Baby Sale / Aunt Sally and Uncle Fifth / Dexter the Dog / Elvira and Henry / The Hairy Man / Honeyboy's Gift / The Monkey's Paw.

And one of the best features of this book are the MANY photographs of Jackie Torrence performing, giving you a sense of how she uses her body to help her tell the story:

Sadly, Jackie Torrence died in 2004 at age 60; you can read her obituary here in the LA Times: "Steeped in the lore of her Appalachian, Cherokee and African American heritage, Torrence told ghost stories, “Jack” stories about various adventures of the Jack of beanstalk fame, Uncle Remus tales and “jump” stories, which end with such a startling one-word twist they make the listener jump."

You can also find some Jackie Torrence videos at YouTube, like this one of the famous "Golden Arm" story:

So, read, listen, watch, and enjoy! I'll be back with some more from Jackie Torrence tomorrow. :-)

Jackie Tales: The Magic of Creating Stories

and the Art of Telling Them

by Jackie Torrence