Tell me a Tale: How PenTales is Bringing Back Storytelling

“Everyone has a story to tell,” says Stephanie Ursula Hodges, one half of PenTales, a New York City based storytelling initiative. In an age where SMS and the solitary nature of social networking are the standard, Hodges—together with childhood friend Saskia Miller—is hoping to integrate the art of storytelling back into people’s lives in order to foster community and to cultivate new storytellers, not only in NYC but across the globe. So what exactly does PenTales do?

Miller explains, “We are all about getting people to share stories with one another. One of the ways we do this is by bringing people together in a room to share their writing. While our projects began with established writers in NY, we have expanded to offer free creative writing at public community centers throughout New York City. These centers are run by the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation, and classes are available to all ages – from 8-year-olds to 80-year-olds.” The curriculum, which Hodges and Miller “hope to share with the wider world for free use,” is structured as a community-minded method of teaching kids and grownups the art of story-crafting and storytelling. “The nervousness of standing in front of a group, the confidence of having people listen can’t be underestimated,” Hodges begins, “Just the fact that people are listening, that creates community. That creates strong individuals.”

The entrepreneurial women emphasize this initiative is open to all storytellers. “Storytelling is important for the individual, and it is important for the community,” says Hodges. “People who might not usually be writing are thinking about their pasts and creating worlds they might not have thought worthy of putting on paper. Now they have been given a reason to tell those stories,” she adds, noting that this age-old tradition, now something of a lost art, is really about empowering the storyteller.

“The other component of PenTales is somewhat of a salon night, where we bring together creative people, friends, and friends of friends, to share their original stories based on a theme that we have decided upon,” adds Miller. These storytelling events were originally inspired by a narrative project the PenTales creators launched nearly a year ago. The initial prompt: “We gave 20 empty notebooks to 20 great storytellers we knew and asked them to write two pages and then pass their books on. The books have been traveling the world from person to person, and we have been tracking them on the PenTales site through Google maps. We’ll hold an exhibition displaying all the stories when they are sent back to NYC,” Hodges explains. While they waited for the literary experiment “PenTales 20” to unfurl, Miller and Hodges decided to hold their first themed storytelling event. “It was a simple formula: we found an interesting NYC space, invited great writers to read 5-min stories, created quirky storytelling games, and, of course, added some wine. It was a huge success,” adds Hodges.

Centered on themes like “Love and Heartbreak” and “Crime and Punishment,” the storytelling events have developed a following in NYC because of the originality and candidness of the stories. The literary variety ranges from confessions of real crimes to love ballads to old diary entries. Undoubtedly, another big draw of the live events is the people who attend, some of NYC’s cultural movers and shakers. “The great thing is that our events draw all kinds of people: People who are just writing for fun, acclaimed novelists, journalists, artists, and perhaps most importantly, people who just want to hear great stories.” says Hodges.

Although born in NYC, PenTales is not bound there geographically. “A lot of our friends in different cities across the world have taken an interest and have launched their own PenTales groups. We are spawning an international community of storytellers who are connected through the same themes and of course through our website,” Hodges adds. Stories told at the events are recorded and shared online at www.pentales.com, exposing storytellers to a larger audience.

Already in Paris, Berlin, Hanoi, Chicago, San Francisco and London, PenTales is now expanding to cities all over the world. The co-creators encourage interested people to start their own groups or attend an event by emailing join@pentales.com.

Asked about the most memorable stories they’ve heard, Miller says, “Personal experiences, when they’re told truthfully, can be the most powerful stories.”

Hodges adds that, in reality, getting people to open up is often as simple as saying, “Tell me something. Tell me a story.”