Adult Music and Storytelling Performances


[Storytelling & Harp ] [Theatre ] [Upcoming Events ]

A FIRE IN MY HEART: A Storyteller's Journey Among the Kurds

 

Edgecomb with Kurdish Shepherd Family 2006

This entertaining and insightful performance with award-winning storyteller Diane Edgecomb charts her years collecting the vanishing folkloric tales of the Kurdish people. This seven-year quest brought Diane to remote mountain villages in Turkey, places usually forbidden to outsiders. A master teller, Edgecomb will share legends from her new book, A Fire In My Heart: Kurdish Tales, never before published stories that reveal the folkloric riches of this ancient Middle Eastern culture along with anecdotes of her travels up sheer mountain roads to record the last Kurdish storytellers. The performance resonates with the humor and pathos of Kurdish village life and the colorful people that shared their lives with her. These anecdotes provide a rare glimpse into the lives of a forgotten people surrounded by a sung version of the haunting Kurdish melody Nexse Mirzo. Perfect for small theater and college settings, this performance is available as a one-hour theatrical event or as a full evening with samples of Kurdish music, slides and video from the journey.

“A storyteller in the grand tradition, Edgecomb is a virtuoso of the spoken word.” Publisher’s Weekly

Depending on venue size and timing, this performance may be available with Kurdish musician Andrew Aytac who sings and plays traditional saz.

Articles on Diane's performances celebrating the publication of A Fire in My Heart: Kurdish Tales

The Boston Globe: 1/31/2008

The Boston Globe: 1/21/2008

The Jamaica Plain Gazette 2/2008

About the Book: A Fire in My Heart: Kurdish tales

The first collection of Kurdish folktales to be published in English, Diane Edgecomb’s A Fire in My Heart: Kurdish Tales is a well-rounded introduction to the Kurdish people: their history, land, customs and stories. This unique collection features tales collected first-hand by the author during several years of travel to the Kurdish region of Turkey as well as stories translated from small tale collections. From the Kurdish Cinderella story and humorous animal tales to stories based on legendary figures such as the Herculean Rustemê Zal, these thirty-three tales from the varied regions of Kurdistan are a wonderful resource for storytellers, folklorists and scholars. The tales are complemented by traditional Kurdish recipes, games and a brief history. Rare color photos from Iraqi Kurdistan in 1955, a map of the region and recent photos of Kurdish village life augment and give context to the stories.

Reviews:

    * From her own collecting efforts and from the contributions of several Kurdish friends Diane has amassed here a useful collection of Kurdish tales. The book includes also recipes and games. We are fortunate to have had these tales collected in this trying time for the Kurdish people. Diane is to be lauded for her efforts and Libraries Unlimited for its publication.

      —In The Wind Spring 2008

    * A labor of love and a magnificent achievement, this collection of tales, legends, recipes, games and history takes readers vividly into the traditional village life of the Kurds, a little-known and politically beleaguered ethnic group whose homeland straddles the borders of Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey. Supported partly by grants (including one from NSN), Edgecomb traveled into Turkish Kurdistan, collecting stories from villagers whose language itself had been banned. The resulting book brings lively and unusual stories to light, each one carefully placed in its social and historical context.

      —Storytelling Magazine May/June 2008

    * A Fire in My Heart: Kurdish Tales introduces readers to the Kurdish people, their cultural traditions, and their stories. It presents 33 tales representing all regions of Kurdistan and the four main Kurdish dialects--from the Kurdish Cinderella story "Fatima" to animal stories and stories based on legendary figures (e.g., Rusteme Zal, the Kurdish Hercules)--organized by tale type.

      —Library Media Connection March 2008

    * This is the first book in my library covering tales from this specific region. A few of the tales are familiar but even those are interesting variants of stories collected from other regions. This book also contains the most detailed information about the culture from which the stories were collected and is illustrated throughout by photo's of people going about their daily work, providing an insight into the lives of the people. The stories vary in length and cover a fascinating range of material.    —Storylines Spring 2008


Review in Reference and Research Book News

Diane Edgecomb: Author, Storyteller and Theatre Artist

A nationally recognized and award-winning performer (Year’s Best Performance- Boston Herald, two time winner of the Storytelling World Honor’s Award), Ms. Edgecomb is widely respected as a master storyteller in the revivalist form of storytelling. Edgecomb has a background in professional theater and uses her skills as a theatre artist to transform into the characters she creates enlivening all of her material with passion and wit. Her rich narrative style and humorous outlook make her one of the most sought after tellers in the country today.

Appearances include the acclaimed Three Apples Storytelling Festival, National Public Radio, WERS, WUMB, Charlestown Working Theatre, Club Passim, and college and university theaters. Edgecomb is an approved touring artist on the roster of the New England Foundation for the Arts and has been featured in McFarland’s  “120 English-speaking Storytellers Worldwide” Over the past seven years she has collected stories from Kurdish refugees from Iraq, Iran, Syria and Turkey as well within remote Kurdish villages in Turkey.