Joy & Iris & Aurora
I write and tell stories about the sublime in the ordinary — everyday heroes and the magic of life. We are all on a hero’s journey, even if it seems we are only trying to make ends meet or dealing with physical challenges. I believe in the power of humor and imagination and wonder.
Story programs include:
The Wonder Chair — personal and updated stories that use humor and spiritual insight to deal with changes in mobility and physical challenges. The main story is based on my own adjustment to sometimes using a wheelchair. My first time was to help me attend the Lelooska Family traditional Northwest Indian storytelling lodge:
“Each dancer stopped before me and forced me to look into the eyes of the masks. One would be an animal in the front, a spirit in the back. Others would open up revealing spirits inside them. Piercing and powerful, spirits in the masks made me aware of the spirits inside me – the child who loved to read, the young girl faced with a mysterious illness, the young woman raising children, the worker, the reader, the artist, the woman who limped, the woman who hurt, the woman who transcended…”
Here is a video of the Wonder Chair recorded by MetroEast Community Media. It’s about 30 minutes long:
Iris and Aurora – I created this story as part of an art and disability show in the Pearl Arts district of Portland. It’s a tale for children of all ages on how being different is an asset. It features a blind girl and how she acquires her seeing-eye dragon. When I tell this story, I bring my cloth sculpture of the characters and allow the piece to be touched and talk about the many ways of interpreting art. The piece has braille embroidered on it and I explain how some people read by touch.
“…Iris took out a cloth bag she had hidden under her cloak. She set up a small cauldron, gathered sticks and made fire. She poured water from a canteen and herbs from a small pouch into the cauldron. Soon it was bubbling and boiling and filling the air with a sweet minty aroma. The dragons stopped growling and grumbling. They sniffed the air and started looking around, following their noses…”
How Reading Saved My Life — a series of personal stories about being a life-long book-a-holic, even though I came from a family that didn’t encourage reading. I tell of encounters with brilliant librarians, eccentric relatives and exquisite books that helped open my mind and expand my world.
“I went back to the children’s picture book section and feasted on the art and stories. The children’s librarian there was a lady named Sarah, who insisted everyone call her by her first name. She was a tall thin Black woman with a short afro that had a shock of gray hair right around the edges of her face, as if she were framed in silver. She was always very friendly and always called me by my name, not Curly Top. She showed me the new books, and since she knew that I like horses, she made sure I saw the ones on how to care for horses, on horse legends and myths.”
I can develop a storytelling program to suit many needs. I have a stories about quirky 
elders, about rising above disability, about reading, art and the help we get in life from unexpected places. I grew up in Memphis in the 1960s and 70s, and have many stories on the merging and integration of cultures in the urban South. I tell stories to young and old audiences and have many original stories for children. I can give a storytelling workshop to help people learn to create stories from their own lives.
I also have a workshop called Chronically Inspired, which you can read about here.
I am a member of the Portland Storyteller’s Guild. I have told stories at the Multnomah County Library International Literacy Day Celebration, Colored Pencils, and many community events.
My stories have been published in literary and regional publications.
Please contact me at joyzmailbox@gmail.com if you are interested.
