Brimming with Heart, Grace, and Grit“This book is a tour de force—a wonderful snapshot of storytelling in Texas. I didn’t want it to end. The history of the Texas Storytelling Festival is fascinating and beautifully written. And the stories that follow, from a broad range of tellers, styles, and experiences, are each gems in their own right.
“The stories range from educational to stirring, from humorous to mysterious. They are personal tales, folk tales, and historical stories, from a variety of different cultures, recognizing the fascinating quilt that is Texas. “Many of the tellers have won a John Henry Faulk award. I smiled when I saw that, as I knew John Henry and his British-born wife Elizabeth when I first lived in Texas in my early twenties. I know that he would have loved these stories—many written for the ear and not the eyes, so you can almost hear them being told. He would have reveled in their charm, their variety, and poignancy. And so did I. I thoroughly recommend this marvelous book.” —Geraldine Buckley, storyteller and author … These stories from the Texas Storytelling Festival shimmer and sparkle like a radiant Texas sunset. Celebrate four decades of captivating storytelling, from true, heartfelt personal narratives resonating with raw honesty, to the rhythmic cadence of cowboy poetry echoing across the vast landscape, to tales taller than the towering Texas Sky and stretching wider than the expansive horizon. Each of these diverse stories reflects the gentle humor and generous spirit which define the Texan soul. Forty Years of Texas Storytelling is a celebration of tradition and the enduring legacy that is the Texas Storytelling Festival.” —Alton Takiyama-Chung, Storyteller (altonchung.com) and Editor-In-Chief of The Story Beast, a quarterly e-Publication dedicated to the art of storytelling (storybeast.org) “A gleaning of engaging tales from the Texas Storytelling Festival that will leave you chuckling and, in some cases, weeping. I loved the chance to peek into the Texan lifestyle via tales of living in … or moving to … Texas.” —Margaret Read MacDonald, Folklorist, author, storyteller, and former librarian “A love of oral storytelling imbues this celebratory book with the flavors of many cultural traditions that call Texas home. Share these stories with your family, your classroom, and faith community.” –Kiran Singh Sirah, past president, International Storytelling Center |
The TSA Fortieth Anniversary Book Committee of Jaye McLaughlin, Hank Roubicek, Peggy Helmick-Richardson, and Chester Weems would like to make a special tribute to Parkhurst Brothers Publishers, for its part in development of Forty Years of Texas Storytelling. To them, this was more than a business project.
Ted Parkhurst has been a longtime supporter of the Tejas Storytelling Association. He has provided exhibits, moderated sessions, and given overall support for many years, and not just to Tejas, but storytelling across the nation. Ted (editor and publisher) and his wife, Linda, the lead graphic designer on this project, have gone an extra mile to see this book through to completion. We appreciate them. Photo by a Friend 
March 2024
Paperback • $21.95 • 978-1-62491-202-3 328 Pages @ 6” x 9” E-book • $14.95 • 978-1-62491-203-0 |