Storytelling Encyclopedia - Historical, Cultural, and Multiethnic Approaches to Oral Traditions Around the World

This is the first definitive reference work to address the substantive elements of oral storytelling, a form of communication that dates back to the dawn of humanity. It is an A to Z collection of over 700 entries covering such major storytelling elements as motifs, character types, tale types, place names, and creation mythologies and storytelling techniques of cultures around the world. Examples of subjects covered are the contributions of pioneering folklorists and mythologists such as: Franz Boas, Stith Thompson, and Joseph Campbell; descriptions of such well-known Western tales as Cinderella, the Greek myth of Persephone and Demeter, and the story of Exodus; as well as tales from Native American, African, and Asian cultures, including Indra and the Ants, tales of Anansi, the spider-trickster of the Ashanti, and the Cherokee Bear-man.

List of contents

CONTRIBUTORS vii
PREFACE ix
PART ONE
Once Upon a Time David Adams Leeming 3
Building Bridges with Stories Melissa Heckler and Carol Birch 8
American Oral Tradition Emory Elliott and Jackie Stallcup 16
The Utopian Tendency of Storytelling: Turning the World Upside Down Jack Zipes 27
PART TWO
A-Z Entries 35
Selected Bibliography 509
Index 519

About the author

David A. Leeming, PhD, is professor emeritus of English and comparative literature at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT.

Summary

It is an A to Z collection of over 700 entries covering such major storytelling elements as motifs, character types, tale types, place names, and creation mythologies and storytelling techniques of cultures around the world.

Product details

• Authors: Book Builders Inc, Marion Sader
• Assisted by: David Leeming (Editor), David A. Leeming (Editor), David Adams Leeming (Editor)
• Publisher: Greenwood
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2019
• EAN: 9781573560252
• ISBN: 978-1-57356-025-2
• No. of pages: 558
• Dimensions: 183 mm x 260 mm x 34 mm
• Weight: 1231 g
• Subjects: Guides > Law, job, finance > Letters, rhetoric; Humanities, art, music > Linguistics and literary studies > General and comparative literary studies; Non-fiction book > Dictionaries, reference works > Dictionaries, encyclopaedias