The Griots' Storybook: An Anthology of Black Storytelling

This anthology is a literary journey from members of the Griots' Circle of Maryland, Inc. There are so many outstanding storytellers within the organization who perform exceptional stories and poems and follow in the tradition of African griots who are storytellers, historians and musicians. The members' original writings are compiled in this storybook and their works add to our black cultural legacy. The stories and poems celebrate our historical love, joy, pain, disappointment, and life lessons.
This volume is also an introduction to the the founder of the Griots' Circle of Maryland, Mary Carter Smith, and the co-founders of the National Association of Black Storytellers, Mary Carter Smith and Linda Goss. These storytelling leaders trained many of the writers who contributed essays, stories, poems, proverbs, history of griots, interviews about Black storytelling and quotes from our cultural heritage.
Readers will enjoy the works of many renowned storytellers and authors who have contributed to this book. Linda Goss is an outstanding storyteller, author and recipient of the National Heritage Fellowship award in African American Storytelling from the National Endowment for the Arts. Janice Curtis Greene is the official griot of Maryland. Akbar Imhotep was a recipient of the Zora Neale Hurston Award. Dr. Caroliese Frink Reed, Phd is a storyteller and scholar of African American studies and African storytelling traditions.
The writings in this collection have a foundation in Black culture. There are story poems that highlight Brer Rabbit, Anansi the Spider and the Cajun culture of Louisiana. Some others celebrate outstanding Black leaders with poetry based on Black spirituals and the rhythms of Paul Laurence Dunbar's dialect poems.
The resources in this collection include Afrocentric book stores' information, literary suggestions, libation statements, cultural recipes and words of wisdom from the African diaspora..