Dear

I've been thinking lately about the people who changed my telling.

My former mentor David Campbell pulled me aside after a session in 2021 and in his usual expressive style, stated, "Something has changed — how wonderful."

He had noticed something. I'd spent 2018–19 as a mentee to international storytelling queen Jan Blake. Two years in a bell tent, with someone with the keenest of ears for story. She was meticulous in her craft, passionate in her will to create excellent storytellers and unafraid to give honest feedback.

That's what David was noticing. A maturity had accrued since his early mentorship. I was no longer propelled by enthusiasm and a melodious voice. I was now steeped in Scottish tradition yet not defined by it. My storytelling was somehow liberated.

There's a reason the old traditions passed through people, not books. The craft of carrying a story well: the rhythm, the timing, when to slow down and when to cut, the timing of a joke or wry aside, all of it trialled in real time. You don't become a storyteller by learning about storytelling. You become one by telling, and by having someone in the room who can track the gifts and the gap in what you're doing.

Jan was always generous in her listening, and suggestions. Yet she pushed me for more dynamism, to take risks, to veer towards stories that were really mine to claim. She prodded where I was stuck and celebrated what was already engaging. It was two years well spent.

I've been offering one-to-one mentoring for a while now, and I love watching what happens. New tellers finding the tales that suit them. Learning to conjure imagery that enlivens the tale rather than abstracts. Testing the integrity of folk tale plots as we fill in narrative gaps.

To see some mentees tell in real life, a year or so after our sessions is a great joy.

What I've been feeling this past year, though, is something missing — the community around it. Storytelling is innately social. The excitement among new tellers is one of my sharpest memories from my own early years. The group chat in my Myth as Medicine course is as alive as the sessions themselves.

And so I have something brewing.

I've curated the sort of programme I'd appreciate being a part of myself- a nine-month group apprenticeship in folk tale and the oral tradition. Small cohort, fortnightly sessions, proper commitment on both sides. It starts in September.

Applications aren't open yet, but you can register interest by responding to this email.

If you're curious, I'm holding a free evening in June: Passing an Ember: Story, Lineage and the Living Tradition. It is a standalone event, yet explores some of the motifs from the programme. We'll gather on Zoom, I'll tell a story, and we'll talk about what real mentorship in the oral tradition looks like and why it matters. Come and see if it's your kind of thing.

Reach out if you're interested, or simply keep some space in your autumn diary.

All best

Dougie

rekindlingthehearth.com