Education and Inspiration through the ancient art of storytelling!
If you would like to subscribe to Fox's free newsletter please click here! Every issue includes a story and ideas for writing your own tales, a lively mix of inspiration and information, poetry and prose.
March 11, 2012
Spring Into A New Challenge
When I was a kid our family always spent a day or two of spring break doing some deep cleaning, scrubbing baseboards, putting away winter clothes and getting out the summer shorts, cleaning the garden beds and getting ready for spring planting. In exchange, my mother would take us all bowling or to the zoo as a special treat for our hard work. Well, I have moved my office, reorganized my staff and done some serious spring cleaning the past few weeks, so I am feeling inspired to launch a few new spring challenges. My new office has an attached Green House, so I am literally and figuratively looking to grow a few new ideas! Like a gardener itching to get outside and get my hands dirty, I am ready to launch a few new projects:
Creating Fertile Ground for a Friend: Host a House Concert
Build a Trellis for a College Kid: Hire an Intern
Greening Your Storytelling: A Workshop on Environmental Ed and Storytelling
The Green Fields of Ireland: Oisin in Tier na Nog, A St. Patrick’s Day Tale
Several Irish Programs and Other Upcoming Events
Imagine inviting twenty or thirty of your best friends into your home for an intimate concert with your favorite musician or storyteller. Can you hear the unfiltered ecstasy emitting from the performer because people have come to truly listen? Can you see the selfless joy on the faces of the audience as they are lost in the moment, knowing that like all live performances, this is the only moment in all eternity where these people, these songs and stories, and this rapture will exists!
My wife and I host a house concert or two most every year and hear are a few things we have learned along the way: Read More
How would you like to get a lot of things done that have been on a back burner for way too long, while both giving a young person a leg up, a little extra cash and experience, and saving a few dollars on what it might cost you to hire a professional? Then a college intern is your answer.
There are many things a college intern might do better than you including… Read More
At the request of both the Illinois and Indiana Environmental Education Associations, August 15-17, 2012, I will be hosting a three day retreat for folks interested in learning more about environmental storytelling, for teachers who want more story in their classroom, for non-formal educators who want to use stories to teach science, and really for anyone who wants to spend three days in the woods working on their storytelling skills. The fee is only $120 if you preregister by May 1st. Because Forest Park is cosponsoring we got a sweet deal on housing and we are doing food in an organized potluck we are making this very affordable. Please follow this link to register and send the flier to your friends who might be interested.
Oisin was the son of Finn MacCoul, one of the wisest and greatest warriors Erin ever knew. Oisin was a poet and a warrior who loved the hunt. On a warm spring morn, Oisin was on the hunt with his favorite hounds. They had not seen much game, when from out of nowhere a beautiful white fawn appeared. He and his hounds set off in hot pursuit. Read More…
March 11, 2012 Naper Settlement, Naperville, IL 4:00 “Irish Immigrant Tales”
March 15, 2012 Pekin Public Library, Pekin, IL at 6:30, “Looking for Leprechauns”
On St. Patrick’s Day I will be in Ottawa, IL at 12:00, Savannah, IL at 4:00 and The Fox Pub in Peoria, IL at 8:00!
March 23rd I will present Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle at Macalister College in St. Paul, MN at 6:30 as part of the THISTLE series.
March 29th I will be a featured speaker at the National Science Teachers Association conference in Indianapolis, IN
And March 31st I will be a featured speaker at the Florida Environmental Education conference.
Please visit my Calendar to see when I might be near you or Contact Fox to book a show.
December 7, 2011
The Holidays are a time for family stories and traditions, Christmas, Solstice, Kwanza, Hanukah, Ramadan and New Year Stories! But first, allow me to begin with an apology to those who received my last newsletter as a garbled mess. I am not sure why, but about half received a pretty newsletter with links that worked and half received a block of difficult to read text. If you scroll to the bottom of this newsletter, I have reposted the links to the articles from last month.
In this month’s newsletter:
A Celtic Solstice Celebration at The Fox Pub
A Celtic Christmas on the Spirit of Peoria
And A Hundred More Holiday Stories…
In One Word: Gratitude
You Can Tell a Tale or Two, Too
And A Local Schools’ Discount
December 19th, Prairie Folklore Theatre will be presenting The Celtic Winter Solstice: A Celebration in Story and Song. The show will be held at the Fox Pub and Caf�, 7800 N. Sommer Street Suite 302 in Peoria. The show will begin at 7pm but the doors open at 6pm. Plan to come for dinner before the show! $10 will be collected at the door, (What a deal!). Reservations are recommended, (We sold out last year!), and can be made by calling 309-692-FOX3 (3693).
During the show I partner with the most amazing player of the penny whistle, Tom Jones of the RoundStone Buskers and we have fun playing with a story collected by William Butler Yeats “The Piper and the Puca.” Click here to read his version of the story… Follow this link to purchase my CD of the story.
There is also still time to book a ticket on the to see Prairie Folklore Theatre’s “A Celtic Christmas.” Join us for a riverboat cruise, a great meal and a celebration of the Irish roots of Christmas. These cruises will take place on December 9, and 10th. Both lunch and dinner cruises are available. Please call the Spirit of Peoria to confirm dates and make reservations: 1-800-676-8988, please mention Fox Tales when making your reservations.
One of the more delightful and tech savvy storytellers, Karen Chase, regularly puts together internet collections of stories on-line. She recently she sent a link to her blog with links to dozens of Holiday Stories. Please visit Karen’s web page, Catch the Story Bug for dozens of other seasonal lists.
In the days following Thanksgiving I believe it important for folks to share their gratitude. It is a wonderful thing that so many folks appreciate the art of storytelling and the power of literature to change lives, the power of stories to bring history to live, the power of words to change worlds… but this fall, something amazing happened, not once, but twice: Two individuals stepped up and paid for school programs in their community. From their pockets they covered my fees to bring storytelling to their local schools who couldn’t afford it otherwise. One gentleman simply because he liked the environmental impact of my stories and wanted to share his love for the earth. The other offered my stories as a gift to their grandkids’ school. I am grateful beyond measure. Thank you both.
This week I am in Olney, IL as an artist in residence sharing stories and presenting writing workshops at three different schools! I love telling stories, but even more so, I love spending time in a community where I can do more than scatter a few seeds, but also water and fertilize, helping students to bear fruit by helping them write and tell their own stories!
With one school we are focusing on “Lincoln Tales Tall and True.” At St. Joseph’s we are writing stories from “The Lives of Saints.” For most of my performances and CDs I have a one page PDF of lesson plans that you can download from my web page. Please feel encouraged to check out the wide range of lesson plans designed to help your students find their voice!
Speaking of Saints, Catholic Schools week is just around the corner. Allow me to offer a special discount to Catholic Schools in Central Illinois, actually, allow me to extend the discount to all schools within about an hour’s drive of Peoria: If you contact me before the end of this year to book a program anytime next year, I will offer two for the price of one AND if you talk to another school in your area to split the day I will offer an additional 20% discount. I am travelling a lot the next few months, but would rather work in my backyard. I am also working on two new books and would like to book more local work so I can be home to write. Please Contact Fox right away to take advantage of this local school offer.
December 28th I will be presenting three shows at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
January 14-15, I will also be performing at the Tennessee Crane Festival, 2012 near Birchwood, TN.
February 9th I will present Charles Darwin’s Voyage of the Beagle as part of the Augustana College convocation series.
March 29th I will be a featured speaker at the National Science Teachers Association conference in Indianapolis, IN.
And March 31st I will be a featured speaker at the Florida Environmental Education conference.
Please visit my Calendar to see when I might be near you or Contact Fox to book a show.
And here are the links to last month’s newsletter for those who received the garbled one:
My New Book, Learning from the Land 2.0 is On Sale
Do Not Fear the Nature Hike
Grandma Turtle - Honoring Your Elders (A Story and A Lesson)
Winter Birds and Participating in Project Feeder Watch
A Celtic Christmas OR A Celtic Solstice...
...and other upcoming events
November 7, 2011
Eating pumpkin custard with my homemade maple syrup for breakfast and then filling the bird feeders, before pedaling my bicycling to the office so I can type up this newsletter and write a press release for my new book, this is my Autumnal task list… what do your thoughts turn to as the last leaves fall from the trees?
My New Book, Learning from the Land 2.0 is On Sale
Do Not Fear the Nature Hike
Grandma Turtle - Honoring Your Elders (A Story and A Lesson)
Winter Birds and Participating in Project Feeder Watch
A Celtic Christmas OR A Celtic Solstice...
...and other upcoming events
Second Edition Illustrated by Vin Luong
$35.00 (plus $2.00 shipping).
Purchase both Adventures in Nature and More Adventures in Nature CDs along with the book for only $50, postage included!
After the first edition sold out of its third print run, my publisher asked me to revise, expand and update what has become a classic book in environmental education! (And here is the deal, mention this newsletter when you check out and I will add a free CD to your order as my holiday present to you!) Please visit my web page to see what other books or CDs you may want to give as gifts. CDs make great stocking stuffers! And your favorite teachers will enjoy a new book of poetry or stories!
Learning From the Land is an original set of science tales utilizing the power of storytelling to explore ecology's big ideas, providing extensive lesson plans with each story for maximum impact.
A cosmological journey through time... a trip into the microscopic world of molecules... the 8,000-mile, pole-to-pole flight of migrating shorebirds. Learning science process skills and the big concepts of science becomes much easier when lessons come wrapped in captivating adventures like these, important ideas about the natural world become much clearer as students are immersed in a sense of wonder. Click here to read more...
Glen Hovemann, my publisher from Dawn Publications, recently sent me an e-mail requesting an article to promote their holiday sales. (And you do want to check out their discounts!) The article is based on the title of a workshop offered at a conference where I presented. Long story short, here is the article:
OK, let’s start with the worst case scenario: Several years ago I was presenting a day long pre-conference workshop for the Michigan Science Teachers Association. Always trying to encourage teachers to take their students outside, we escaped from the stuffy conference center to go for a hike, but the only patch of nature we could find in downtown Detroit was a rectangular hole in the pavement about 2’ x 3’ with the dead stump of a former tree and gravel…. Yet in this mini-oasis we found a rich community of pill bugs, ants, a centipede, two different kinds of moss, some lichens, a fungus and the gravel was filled with the fossils of an ancient sea bed, truly a teachable moment. We studied the world from the point of view of an ant. We drew pictures of the different mosses, comparing and contrasting their forms. And we wrote stories about a day in the life of a pill bug. It still ranks as one of the best nature hikes ever and a great model for these inner-city teachers to look for nature wherever you find it!
Whatever the season, whatever the weather, the wild world is waiting to offer your students a chance for real learning; even if you are just circling the building, take your class outside and let them immerse themselves in a sense of wonder. Read More…
I was recently invited to share stories at a ceremony to dedicate a grove of trees planted for a Native American Elder whose daughters are all friends of mine. I am honored to be part of this event and reminded of the importance of our elders, those who have gone on before us. Though I did not know their mother as well as I would have liked, my few encounters with her were an inspiration, and knowing she has raised three strong willed and successful women, whom I hold in the highest esteem, I want to share with you one of her favorite stories. More importantly, with the holidays around the bend, this is a good time for you to pass an afternoon with your elders and collect their stories through an Oral History Interview.
Grandma Turtle: A Traditional Shawnee Story Rewritten as a Play for Thanksgiving
Retold by Brian “Fox” Ellis
� Copyright Brian “Fox” Ellis
Also Available on my CD - River Stories I
NARRATOR: In the beginning all there was was darkness, and Gitchimanitou, Creator.
CREATOR: The Creator of us all, Gitchimanitou, saw that darkness and shazam! Creator thought about light and the sun was made. But ooh, that was too hot. It hurt your eyes to look at it. So Creator thought about a softer light, shoo! and the moon was made. Ah, that was much more beautiful. And then Gitchimanitou thought about little tiny lights, psh, psh, psh, psh, hundreds of little tiny lights, psh, psh, psh, psh, thousands of little tiny lights, psh, psh, psh, psh, until soon the heavens were filled with stars. And then Creator thought about the earth and ooh, that was a big thought.
NARRATOR Now you might think that strange, but whatever Creator thought about was made. Have you ever made something? You must first imagine it - whatever you can imagine you can make. In this way you can be a creator, too. And in this way, Creator made the sun, the moon, the stars and the earth. Then Creator thought about water: a nice tall glass of cold water, and a nice gentle rain. And then Creator thought about a little creek, a raging river, ocean waves. And the more Creator thought about water, the more water was made, and more water, and more water until soon the entire earth was covered with water.
CREATOR: And then, Creator thought about the animals.(Each animal says his or her name and swims or flies across the stage:) Beaver, bear, muskrat, eagle, fox, wolf, turtle, spider, duck, deer, Read More…
This past weekend I bought a large percentage of my winter bird feeding supplies at the Annual Audubon Society Seed Sale. Not only do I save a pretty penny but part of the proceeds will benefit my local Audubon Society! Feeding the birds is fun, entertaining, vital to the long term health of birds, and it is also a great way to participate in ongoing scientific studies of bird populations, migration patterns and conserving endangered species.
Cornell Labs has a great variety of information on what to feed birds, lesson plans for educators and home-schoolers and an informative two minute video on the importance of the program. Check out Project Feeder Watch Allow me to gently twist your arm to participate in one of the most rewarding hobbies, bird feeding, and then to go the extra step to use your hobby, bird feeding, to participate in this important scientific study of bird populations!
In December Prairie Folklore Theatre has several upcoming performances in the Peoria area. Would you rather see A Celtic Christmas or Celtic Solstice? Maybe both? Bring your family and friends to these annual events:
Programs start on the 2nd of December with the Celtic Christmas on board the Spirit of Peoria. These cruises will take place on the 2, 3, 9, and 10th. Both lunch and dinner cruises are available. Please call the Spirit of Peoria to confirm dates and make reservations: 1-800-676-8988, please mention Fox Tales when making your reservations.
December 19th, Prairie Folklore Theatre will be presenting The Celtic Winter Solstice: A Celebration in Story and Song. This will be held at the Fox Pub and Caf�, 7800 N. Sommer Street Suite 302 in Peoria. The show will begin at 7pm but the doors open at 6pm. Plan to come for dinner before the show! $10 will be collected at the door. Reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling 309-692-FOX2 (3692).
November 25th and December 28th I will be presenting three shows each day at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. I will also be performing at the Tennessee Crane Festival January 14-15, 2012 near Birchwood, TN. Please visit my Calendar to see when I might be near you or Contact Fox to book a show.
September 19, 2011
Riding the Wave of Summer into a Fruitful Fall!
I hope all of you had a delightful and restorative summer… and this installment of my irregular newsletter finds you harvesting stories to keep you warm as you prepare for the chilly season!
Springdale Cemetery Once Again Alive with History
Edgar Allan Poe is Staggering About The Country
As America Commemorates The Ghosts and Legends of the Civil War
The Legend of the Piasa: A Scary Story for Halloween
New Web Page and Postcard
A Calander Full of Fall Festivals and Spring Conferences
Learning From the Land, second edition, has gone to press! More news in my next newsletter!
Springdale Cemetery Once Again Alive with History
It is that time of year! Prairie Folklore Theatre will present the annual Historic Springdale Cemetery Tour. This year we will explore Peoria’s Role in The Civil War. With all new characters, we commemorate the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War. Meet the local boys who offered their lives to save the Union, hear the stories of officers who lead them to victory, and visit with the folks back home who built soldier hill. We have also added Friday evening programs, Sept 30 and Oct 7 at 6:00pm, as well as our usual Saturday and Sunday programs, Oct 1, & 2, 8, & 9, at 2:00 and 4:00 pm. Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for children, with a family friendly price of $20. Please call 309-689-8000 to make reservations. Or visit our web page to download a poster or bookmarks.
Edgar Allan Poe is Staggering About The Country
As America Commemorates The Ghosts and Legends of the Civil War
Are you willing to wager a bet? (Poe was kicked out of college for gambling!) Which program do you think is more popular? “The Ghosts of Edgar Allan Poe” or “Civil War Ghosts and Legends”? In the next few months I will present more than a dozen of both shows; I will even present different programs in two different towns on the same day! Poe is an exciting look at the life of this twisted soul that explores the true stories behind his fiction. I recite “The Raven” and “The Tell Tale Heart” as well as some of his lesser known stories. On the other hand, there is nothing civil about war, and Civil War Ghosts immerses the audience in the heat of battle, through mostly true stories, woven with Walt Whitman’s Poetry, Stephen Foster’s songs, and Ambrose Bierce’s fiction. Which program would you like to see? I will be Poe in Quincy, IL Oct 11, Tinley Park, IL Oct 22, and Oak Park, IL on Halloween. I will presenting Civil War stories in Ottawa, IL Oct 22, Harvard, IL Nov 6 and Moline, IL Oct 18. Check my calendar to find a date near you or better yet Contact Fox about Booking a show! Follow the link to the show description for lesson plans, timelines, articles, and essays about these programs.
THE LEGEND OF THE PIASA
… A River Monster arrives just in time for Halloween!
Back in the time when the saber toothed cat and the woolly mammoth still roamed the earth, when the First People camped along the shores of the mighty Mississippi…
In this time before time, there lived a beast so fierce that to this day, his name sends a shiver down the spine of those who knew him. The Piasa! The evil bird!
His face was covered with fur like a lion’s mane. His claws and teeth were like daggers. His antlers were like the branches of a mighty oak. His wings clapped like thunder. And his long scaly tail could wrap three times around his body.
It was larger than a wooly mammoth. It could carry off a full-grown bull buffalo, elk or deer and eat it in a single meal.
Once it swooped down and snatched up a man and devoured him like a cat playing with a mouse.
Once it had tasted human flesh it would eat nothing else… Click here to read more…
New Web Page and Postcard
Can I ask a small favor? This summer I hired a wonderful intern, Ruby of Ruby Graphic Designs to completely overhaul my web page and design a few postcards for mass mailing. I think she did a great job building a frame and would highly recommend her work to anyone interested in a similar project. But before my old page goes down and the new one goes live, I would be very grateful if you could Contact Fox and please list three things you love that I should not change and three suggestions for improved surfing or things I might add. If you take the time to do this, and include your full address, I will gladly send you a free copy of Song of the Red Fox, my favorite book of poetry.
A Calendar Full of Fall Festivals and Spring Conferences
Last weekend I had the opportunity to share stories at The Mississippi Earth Tones Festival as part of the annual River Sweep in which thousands of citizens volunteer a morning to clean up their local watershed and are then rewarded with an afternoon of music, stories, food, and festivities! They had a plein air painting contest and Jennifer Weigel painted my portrait! Next weekend I am part of events in Shawneetown, IL and Henderson, KY, presenting Audubon as part of the bicentennial of his journey down the Ohio River. Later in October, I will keynote the Ohio Math Teachers Conference and the opening of an Audubon exhibit at the Mobile Museum of Art. I then head to Chattanooga, TN for A Sandhill Crane Soiree October 26th!
Looking forward to next year, I am so excited to be a keynote speaker at the National Science Teacher’s Conference in Indianapolis, The Florida Environmental Education Conference, north of Orlando, and the New York Council of English Teachers in Albany. Please check my Calendar to see when I might be near you so you can book a program to piggy-back and save on expenses. I am currently booking teacher conferences and festivals into 2012 and 2013. Please Contact Fox to reserve dates early.
Life is grand and just keeps getting better!
June 1, 2011
Okay, I will finally admit it... I am DELIGHTFULLY OBSESSED ... Audubon is an inspiration to me, and many audiences, as an artist, writer, scientist, and conservationist. John James Audubon has been very, very good to me. This spring, I have already presented 70 programs as Audubon including birding hikes, school programs, museum programs and public performances.
May was the 200th anniversary of John James Audubon's first foray through Illinois. The idea started with four communities and four days, but after months of planning and overwhelming support from several sponsors, I have recreated his bicentennial tour of Illinois with visits to sixteen towns across the state. In many of the communities I led an early morning bird hike, (see below), set up my exhibit of Audubon’s art and taxidermy birds, presented school programs and an evening performance of stories Audubon wrote about what Illinois looked like 200 years ago! Here is a detailed schedule of the tour.
I wrote two articles about the tour:
The first outlines hikes you might take to see Illinois as Audubon once saw it: Walking In Audubon's Footsteps: Celebrating the bicentennial of John James Audubon’s historic hike across the Prairie State, as published in Outdoor Illinois. The second article challenges you to read Audubon’s journals as a template for restoration with information about the birds he saw here 200 years ago: An Audubon Bicentennial: John James Audubon's First Forays into Illinois as Fodder for Conservation Efforts, as published by the Illinois Audubon Society. And here is a film clip from a future documentary about John James Audubon!
Press reports have all been generous in their reviews:
The Southern Illinoisan, The Peoria Journal Star and The Springfield Journal-Register all ran articles. Chris Young, outdoors reporter for the Springfield Journal Register posted a wonderful video interview with snippets of my performance at the Earth Stewardship Day at the state fairgrounds.
This tour would not have been be possible without the generous support of The Illinois Humanities Council Roads Scholar Program, Illinois Audubon, Peoria Audubon, Shawnee Audubon, The Illinois State Museum, The Gallatin County Historical Society, The John A. Logan Museum, and The First Bank and Trust Company of Murphysboro, and The Ste. Genevieve Historical Society. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Bad News/Good News: Because of the big floods at the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Shawneetown and the Birding in the Bottoms festival had to cancel, but they have already rescheduled for September 16 and 23. Watch my Calendar for updates.
Wherever you live in North America, one of the highlights of every spring is the annual migration of millions of birds, and one of the perks of my job is that I get to go bird watching with a wonderful variety of people all across this country. As part of the Bicentennial Tour I co-lead bird watching hikes at several sites across Southern Illinois. I had wonderful folks in each town who knew the trails and birds better than I. A special thank you goes out to Edna, Lane, and both Anns! And everywhere we went we had a magical close encounter with Summer Tanagers, a bird I have rarely seen before, but was seen most every day on this tanager filled tour. At The Nature Institute near Godfrey, IL we thought we heard a Summer Tanager, but it took great patience before we got a look. But patience paid off as we saw two mated pairs with good looks of the bright red male and beautiful lemon-yellow female. At Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge we saw a strange site… what first appeared to be a singing female and male, turned out to be the mottled red-orange-yellow, first year male challenging an older male for his territory. A quick review of Audubon’s painting of the Summer Tanager reveals that he painted all three color varieties! At this same site you can read all of Audubon’s Ornithological Biography. Here are three edited clips:
CAROLINA PARAKEET - Our Parakeets are very rapidly diminishing in number; and in some districts, where twenty-five years ago they were plentiful, scarcely any are now to be seen. At that period, they could be procured as far up the tributary waters of the Ohio as the Great Kenhawa, the Scioto, the heads of Miami, the mouth of the Maumee at its junction with Lake Erie, on the Illinois River, and sometimes as far north-east as Lake Ontario, and along the eastern districts as far as the boundary line between Virginia and Maryland. At the present day, very few are to be found higher than Cincinnati, nor is it until you reach the mouth of the Ohio that Parakeets are met with in considerable numbers. I should think that along the Mississippi there is not now half the number that existed fifteen years ago. The woods are the habitation best fitted for them, and there the richness of their plumage, their beautiful mode of flight, and even their screams, afford welcome intimation that our darkest forests and most sequestered swamps are not destitute of charms.
PASSENGER PIGEON - In the autumn of 1813, I left my house at Henderson, on the banks of the Ohio, I observed the Pigeons flying from north-east to south-west, in greater numbers than I thought I had ever seen them before, as the birds poured in in countless multitudes. The air was literally filled with Pigeons; the light of noon-day was obscured as by an eclipse, the dung fell in spots, not unlike melting flakes of snow. I have seen the Negroes at the salt works of Shawanee Town, wearied with killing Pigeons. The banks of the Ohio were crowded with men and boys, incessantly shooting at the pilgrims, which there flew lower as they passed the river. For a week or more, the population fed on no other flesh than that of Pigeons. Persons unacquainted with these birds might naturally conclude that such dreadful havoc would soon put an end to the species. But I have satisfied myself, by long observation, that nothing but the gradual diminution of our forests can accomplish their decrease.”
THE IVORY BILLED WOODPECKER - The Ivory-billed Woodpecker confines its rambles to a comparatively very small portion of the United States. Descending the Ohio, we meet with this splendid bird for the first time near the confluence of that beautiful river and the Mississippi, [near the Cache River]. I wish, kind reader, it were in my power to present to your mind's eye the favorite resort of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker … those deep morasses, overshadowed by millions of gigantic dark cypresses, spreading their sturdy moss-covered branches, as if to admonish intruding man to pause and reflect on the many difficulties he must encounter in venturing farther into their inaccessible recesses, here and there the massy trunk of a fallen and decaying tree, and thousands of creeping and twining plants of numberless species … the dangerous nature of the ground, its oozing, spongy, and miry disposition, although covered with a beautiful but treacherous carpeting, composed of the richest mosses, flags, and water-lilies, no sooner receiving the pressure of the foot than it yields and endangers the very life of the adventurer, as he approaches an opening, that proves merely a lake of black muddy water, his ear is assailed by the dismal croaking of innumerable frogs, the hissing of serpents, or the bellowing of alligators!”
Princeton Audubon is a sponsor of my tour and if you purchase a print you receive a discount and they make a donation to my school programs. If you would like to own an Audubon print please visit Princeton Audubon and if you use the word FOX in the discount code you receive a 25% discount!
And Just For Fun… I ask… What species of woodpecker is Woody the Woodpecker? Follow the link to see for yourself, (Hint: His name means caterpillar lover!)
One of the projects I worked on this winter was to help write a birding map for the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway. Contact the tourism board to get a copy of the map or visit the web page. Spend some time outdoors this year taking in all the birding opportunities the Illinois River Road has to offer.
The first cruise of the season was going to St. Louis but the floods inhibited us from landing at the Arch. Please click on the boat to see the schedule for 2011 and plan to join us for a delightful tour of the Illinois River this summer!'''
May 10th I lead my first webinar with Green Teacher Magazine. It was amazing to be interacting with folks from British Columbia to North Carolina. If you would like to view the one hour seminar please follow the link: “FROG SONGS: Poetry and Essays, Field Ecology and Entomology”
This summer I am returning to the Spirit of Peoria, Mississippi Libraries, The High Plains and Prairieland Chautauquas, and an exciting series of programs at the Old State Capitol in Springfield Illinois where I will be performing as Billy Herndon, Lincoln’s Law partner in the courtroom where they tried many of their cases! My fall is filling up and I have tentatively booked two residencies in the winter. Please visit my Calendar to see when I might be in a town near you so you can piggy-back a program and share travel expenses.
March 3, 2011
In like a lion and out like a lamb could describe the entire year and not just this season! I hope this installment finds you in good health and high spirits, and like me, looking forward to getting out on the trail to enjoy the coming warm weather. When you are done reading the news, go outside for a hike and breath deep the crisp spring morning!
The Spring Migration has started! I saw male red-winged black birds today and they were already squawking to defend their turf. I spent yesterday driving The Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway scouting out the details for a birding map we are putting together. (Watch for more on this later this spring.) I will spend March 8-12 in Nebraska with 500,000 Sandhill Cranes, presenting programs at The Museum of Nebraska Art and the Nebraska Nature Center, where I will also be in the blinds and hosting tours. I have a sprinkling of Audubon performances in April, including another trip to The Jules-Collins Smith Museum in Auburn, Alabama, but most of May is filled with birding hikes and programs wrapped around my celebration of the bicentennial of Audubon’s first trip through Illinois. Visit my Calendar to see when I might be birding in your neck of the woods!
And if you are thinking about a new pair of binoculars or a spotting scope for this spring season please check out Eagle Optics for great deals. Eagle Optics is an official sponsor of my current tour, and if you use my access code when you check out, PRP-41, you get a discount and they make a donation to my educational programs. Eagle Optics is the premiere on-line source for binoculars and spotting scopes.
The tour keeps growing with programs being added as the schedule allows! As you might remember from the last newsletter, this year marks An Audubon Bicentennial. With support from the Illinois Humanities Council, Illinois Audubon, local libraries and historical societies, I have created a Whistle Stop Tour of Southern Illinois. In every town I will lead an early morning birding hike, present school programs and/or workshops, hang my private collection of Audubon prints and present a special evening performance!
WHEN AND WHERE: (To fit into the schedules of various hosts the tour does zig-zag:)
If you would like to join us for a program or sponsor a school visit, please ContactFox. There is a new book in the works and I am starting to drum up funding for a documentary about John James Audubon. (If you have any leads on sponsors please ContactFox!)
Illinois Audubon is sponsoring what looks like a really fun day of environmental education for early childhood educators. I will open the day with a performance and workshop and then there are several engaging programs presented by some of the top environmental educators in the area. A good time will be had by all! Please pass along the flier to anyone you know who might be interested: Roots of Nature.
A little different letter this month, in that I was part of a circle of e-mail initiated by Glenda Bonin who was researching variants of the old folk tale, The Long Leather Coat. I have a version on my web page which she referenced in her article and she posted a lovely version of the story on the Nevada Arts Council page. It is always fun to read a few versions of a story and then make it your own. This is a great story for Earth Day because of its theme of recycling. Both Glenda and I have different ways of making it interactive and participatory, which is necessary for young children! Now turn to a young child and tell them this tale!
January 7, 2011
It has been a wonderful year! I would like to begin by thanking all of the amazing folks that I get to work with each year on the riverboat, at schools, conferences, libraries, on the Chautauqua circuit and at the birding festivals. I do feel blessed that most of my clients are also friends. There are so many highlights it was hard to choose just a few:
It was a great year for writing: “Learning From the Land: Teaching Ecology through Storytelling” (TIP 1997), my first book, has sold out in its third print run so my publisher asked me to revise and expand. It has gone to the editor and will be available later this spring! (I have just a few copies left, mention this newsletter and get 10% off.) I published a new book of poetry for grown-ups, Singing Up the Sun - Swimming Through the Moon, and the Sun Foundation commissioned me to edit a how-to book on organizing your own Clean Water Celebration, Celebrating Clean Water!
With three articles being published this winter, I have finally crossed the magical self-imposed goal line of more than 100 magazine articles in print! There is an article called Tales From the Trail, promoting ecological awareness and language skills while writing for eco-tourism web sites, published in Green Teacher Magazine One that celebrates An Audubon Bicentennial: John James Audubon's First Forays into Illinois as Fodder for Conservation Efforts as published by the Illinois Audubon Society, and several brief biographies based on our annual Springdale Cemetery Tour, Peoria's Civil War Heroes, published in Inter-Business Issues.
And “Voices for the River,” my first documentary, won grants from the The Illinois EPA, and The Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway, so I could give away hundreds of free copies to teachers throughout the watershed! If you are a teacher in Illinois you can still get a free copy, (pay just $3.00 for shipping and handling.) For anyone else interested in this hybrid comedy/documentary about cleaning up your watershed you can purchase a copy for $10.00. You can also watch parts of the video on YouTube and of course, there are lots of free LessonPlans.
I had the most delightful Chautauqua Summer with performances at High Plains Chautauqua in Greeley, CO in August the Prairieland Chautauqua in September. Both have invited me back for next year so plan now to attend! There were also a handful of performances as Edgar Allan Poe, Walt Whitman, and Charles Darwin. But the big star was John James Audubon, with more than 100 performances last year!!! AND I am on track to hit a similar mark this year, in part because of several anniversaries, several art exhibits at various museums, and Audubon’s popularity at regional birding festivals.
Which leads me to…
The year ahead is already filling up with an exciting variety of programs booked, several big anniversaries, a new book in the works, and more than a few fun trips!
This year marks the Bicentennial of Audubon's first trip through Illinois. I have received a grant from the Illinois Humanities Council and support from Illinois Audubon and several libraries and historical societies to recreate his ‘walk of long duration’ with a Whistle Stop Tour of Southern Illinois. In every town I will lead an early morning birding hike, present school programs and/or workshops, hang my private collection of Audubon prints and present a special evening performance!
WHEN AND WHERE: (To fit into the schedules of various hosts the tour does zig-zag:)
If you would like to join us for a program or sponsor a school visit, please ContactFox. There is a new book in the works and I am hoping to drum up funding for a video about Audubon. (If you have any leads on sponsors please ContactFox!)
It is also the Sesquicentennial of The Civil War. Prairie Folklore Theatre is hosting a special celebration on the anniversary of the first shot fired on Fort Sumter, April 12th. Book tickets early as we are sure to sell out. I also offer two different performances that explore different aspects of the war:
Captain Henry Detweiller on The Role of Steamboatin’ in the Union Victory! - Based on the pilot’s logs of Captain Detweiller, Brian “Fox” Ellis immerses the audience in the vital, though unsung role of steamboats in the siege of Vicksburg, the capture of Natchez, and the horrors of Shiloh. Captain Henry Detweiller was there and shares an eyewitness account. He delivered troops and supplies during the Civil War, was a friend of Lincoln and rival of Mark Twain! Fox brings these stories to life in a first person monologue that shares a unique voice in this important chapter of river history. Fox is also the Riverlorian for the Spirit of Peoria.
Mathias Stritt Shares a Soldier’s Story of the Civil War - True stories and period literature are woven with traditional songs and poetry from the most un-civil war. Join Brian “Fox” Ellis as he takes listeners back in time to the bloody battlefields, and gruesome field hospitals of America’s deadliest war. In the persona of Mathias Stritt, a German immigrant first to enlist in Peoria, and later marched with Sherman as he burned Atlanta and marched to the sea, Fox recites poems by Walt Whitman and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, interspersing his rich knowledge of the war with horror stories by Civil War soldier/reporter Ambrose Bierce and folksongs by Stephen Foster.
And The National Endowment for the Arts is sponsoring Edgar Allan Poe as one of their authors, I have booked more than 20 performances across the country as this master of horror and mayhem!
Of course there will be another summer on The Spirit of Peoria. The are two week long Artist-in-Residencies booked for two different schools in Brookfield, IL. I will also present artist-in-residence programs at The Stark Museum in Orange, TX and The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University I am just beginning to book libraries for Summer Reading Programs and we are already researching characters for next fall’s 9th Annual Springdale Cemetery Tour…
Please check my Calendar to see when I might be in your neighborhood and ContactFox if you would like to book a show! I hope to see you out on the road sometime this year!
November 1, 2010
Fall Migration is wrapping up as I migrate from Wisconsin to Pennsylvania to Oklahoma as John James Audubon. Halloween has just past, so why am I surprised that Edgar Allan Poe has received raven reviews? And before you know it all the leaves will be down and snow will be on the ground! My fall book sale has been extended and I have a new column that responds to your questions!
Birding on the Riverboat
In September I helped to organize and host a special Audubon themed cruise on the Spirit of Peoria Riverboat. This isn’t the kind of trip where you will see hundreds of species, but from a riverboat you get an unusual and more intimate look at the fall migrants, most amazing were the hundreds and hundreds of great white pelicans. Cleo and Steve D’Arcy, Co-Presidents of the Champaign County Audubon Society, wrote a wonderful article for their newsletter, which they have graciously allowed me to reprint. Annette and Fred Johnson provided photos. Click on the headline to read the article.
Audubon’s Endless Tour
From his riverboat cruise on the Illinois River to Kentucky’s Cumberland Gap Hawk Watch, from a museum in New London, Wisconsin to a week-long residency in Tulsa, Oklahoma, John James Audubon has been keeping me more than a little busy. As a result of all of this work, I have added a new story to the web page about his cruise down “The Ohio River” and I am writing an article for Illinois Audubon about his first visit to Illinois 200 years ago. Check my Calendar to see if Audubon is heading to a town near you, or better yet, drop me an e-mail to see if you might host a visit for your community!
Edgar Allan Poe’s Raven Has Wings!
One of the new characters that I have developed this year is Edgar Allan Poe. Because of Halloween I have given several performances in the past few weeks and he is finding his legs. In this performance I focus on the true stories of his life and how they are reflected in his writing. I also share a brief synopsis of his essay on The Philosophy of Composition as an introduction to “The Raven” and tell three stories, "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Masque of Red Death" and "The Tell Tale Heart". Admittedly, Poe is a challenge. I still struggle with the intensity of this character. So it is heartening to receive such glowing praise… though I humbly submit that Poe’s work is what most folks admire:
Hello, I just wanted to drop you a little note. I was at your performance at the Naper Settlement the other night and really enjoyed it. As a performer myself, I see a lot of other performers and sometimes it is difficult not to be critical, but there was nothing to be critical about in your performance. Great Job! Very Impressive! My question is will you be doing a Poe CD? I am looking forward to one. Cheers, Bill Pack
"I just watched your performance of Edgar Allan Poe and I was rivited to the nuances and rhythms of the short stories and poetry, but also inspired by the entire presentation. All of it was beautifully delivered as a brilliant accomplished storyteller." Linda Johnston - High Plains Chautauqua
A wonderfully written article about my Edgar Allan Poe program appeared in the Lemont Patch, a web based magazine in the Chicago Suburbs.
A Riverboat Christmas
Prairie Folklore Theatre has a series of lunch and dinner shows on the Spirit of Peoria Nov 27, December 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 31. Bring your friends and family to join Barry Cloyd and I as we celebrate the season with your favorite carols and stories. Please call the Spirit of Peoria to make reservations: 1-800-676-8988 or 309-637-8000 locally.
Springdale Cemetery Will Rest in Peace
We had great weather and even greater attendance for our annual Springdale Cemetery Tour. My daughter Laurel has recorded and edited the performances so they should be posted to YouTube soon. The reviews are in:
These performances should be on every historically curious Peoria area resident's must attend list. Tom Campen
Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed the performance at Springdale yesterday. It was so interesting to learn about the characters and such fascinating details of the history of Peoria. We would really be interested in how you research the characters that are portrayed. We will be checking your website to learn more about other performances. Thanks again Linda Zears
Mark your calendar now for next year’s tour, October 8, 9, 15, 16, 2011. We will commemorate the sesquicentennial of the Civil War.
This Winter’s Writing Assignments
I am trading edits with my publisher on an expanded and revised version of “Learning From The Land”, that should be out next spring! I am also working on a new book about John James Audubon. SOOO, I am hoping to stay home much of this winter, Dec-Feb. I have already booked a few trips, birding in Florida and a soil and water conservation conference in Iowa in January, (so if you live in these areas and wish to piggy-back let me know), but I am also offering discounts to schools and libraries in Central Illinois if you want to hire me locally. Please check my Calendar for availability.
Letters to a Young Storyteller: Audience Participation Stories
Two months in a row, just as I am putting together my newsletter, a fellow storyteller e-mails me a question and I answer it. I guess I have started a new column! I could get used to this! If you have a question about storytelling sources, ethics, aesthetics, or how-to, please drop me a line and I will share the dialogue with others:
Dear Mr. "Fox," Years ago while living and working in Atlanta, Georgia, I was delighted by these stories where the listeners made the sound effects which were prompted by the context of the story. I am a teacher of English Language Learners now in Harlem, New York and have been searching for what those kinds of stories are called so that I could access them online. Please, Sir, if you would enlighten me as to the names of such stories or refer to a site where I could download or create my own. Please respond. With the sincerest of gratitude . . . I am, Ja’far
Hello Ja'far, I will be in NYC in two weeks, actually telling stories for a nature center in upper Bucks Co PA, but flying in and out of NY, staying with a friend in Brooklyn and maybe telling stories in upper Manhattan. The type of story you are looking for are generally called audience participation stories and there are several kinds. The most fun and easiest are what you speak of, simple inviting the kids to make some noise! I will attach a link to an article I wrote on making any story an audience participation story: Audience Participation.
I have also done a lot of ESL storytelling and find it is a great tool for teaching language skills. Some of those lessons are here: Adult Literacy.
I hope this is useful. Telling Earth Tales, Brian "Fox" Ellis
And finally, based on the success of last month's sale it has been extended: For a limited time you can buy a classroom set of 25 copies of Song of the Red Fox for $25, yes, 25 books for $25, (plus $5 shipping and handling), but you have to place an order before the holidays. Follow this link to purchase:
September 14, 2010
School has started, cool crisp mornings have returned, and though technically a few weeks away, fall is in the air. One last look back at the summer highlights and then we turn our selves to a busy fall schedule with 30 programs for Chicago Public Libraries, a few more riverboat trips, Octoberfest and the Annual Springdale Cemetery Tours! That is what you will find in this issue:
A Chautauqua Summer
If you have never been to a Chautauqua, go on-line, find one near you and mark your calendar now! Imagine spending an evening with Mark Twain and WC Fields, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman, Mother Jones or Irene Castle, John Muir, The Carter Family or any number of famous, inspiring, dead people, all brought to life by skilled scholars and animated actors! The Chautauqua was a late 19th century phenomenon that has had a real renaissance in the past dozen years. The idea is to provide high culture for average folks. My favorite compliment was when an older farmer came up after my performance as Walt Whitman and said, “For someone who has never liked poems much, I think I want to go to the library and read a few of your books.” This is exactly my goal as a performer, so that comment not only made my day, it made my whole career worthwhile! You can catch a few of my Chautauqua style programs here:
I will portray Audubon for the Tulsa Audubon Society as part of their 75th Anniversary Celebrations Nov 15-20.
I will also portray Audubon for birding festivals at Cumberland Gap, KY October 1-3, 2010, and at Rookery Bay, Florida, January 14-16, 2011. At both of these events I will be leading bird hikes, presenting school programs and sharing my personal collection of Audubon’s Art.
The Indiana Environmental Education Conference November 6, 2010, has invited me to keynote their conference as Audubon.
I have a sprinkling of programs as Edgar Allan Poe this fall around Halloween. And I have been invited back to The High Plains Chautauqua in Greeley, CO August 2-6, 2011 and The Prairieland Chautauqua in Jacksonville IL Sept 3 & 4. 2011.
Please ContactFox if you would like to schedule a Chautauqua style program. Or you can check my Calendar to see if I might be in a town near you and piggy-back a program saving on travel expenses!
Nature Connections in the Urban Wildlife of Chicago
This week I have launched a series of programs at the Chicago Public Libraries with the expressed goal of helping urban folks connect with the wild world. My performance is called Many Lands, One Earth. I have purposefully chosen about 25 folktales and science stories from around the world so that I can adapt each performance to match the cultural mix and age range of the audience that shows up. I have to say I had too much fun at the first three performances! Always my favorite feedback is this: when folks come up and tell me stories about the owls in their backyard or going fishing with their dad; not, that was a great story, but here, let me tell you a story. Folks in Chicago are truly blessed that even in this most urban environment there are great flocks of migrating birds along the lakeshore. The Forest Preserves that encircle the city also preserve bio-diversity. To prove this point, in between programs I make a point to go for a hike at a local park. Yesterday I went hiking at The Little Red School House Nature Center and saw a pickerel frog, northern water snake, dozens of birds, and a dray of squirrels foraging for the mast of acorns. But my favorite was the raft of water lilies.
I am also ecstatic to say my school year is nearly full, with just a sprinkling of dates mid-winter, Dec/Jan/Feb. The good news for schools and other organizations in the Chicago Area is this: because I am presenting so many after-school and evening programs for the library I have several day time slots where I can offer my programs at a deep discount if you can piggy-back. Please check my Calendar to see which dates and ContactFox right away if you would like to schedule a program.
A Letter to Young Storyteller
I have always been a fan of Rainer Maria Rilke’s “Letters to a Young Poet”. This morning when I sat down to compose this newsletter I first checked my inbox and found the enclosed questions from a college student. Feeling it was my duty to answer, with just a touch of braggadocio, as is my wont, I then thought I would share the correspondence, hoping it might be helpful to other storytellers and teachers as the new school year begins: To read her letter and my response please visit my blog
Song of the Red Fox on Sale
This year I have developed two new Chautauqua programs as poets, Walt Whitman and Edgar Allan Poe, both writers who struggled to publish and sell their work. Like Whitman, my first book of poetry was self-published, also like Whitman, one of my goals is to always write accessible poetry for the common man or woman. Several years ago I made the commitment to include a poem in every performance, often sung or sometimes stitched into the prose seamlessly. My goal in all of this is to help re-ignite a love of poetry in average folks. Hard to believe today, but there was a time when plumbers and carpenters memorized a poem or two to woe their true love. When average joes and janes scratched down their hearts’ fiery passions in a poem. This book not only includes a wide variety of poetic types, but it also includes ideas for writing your own poems. And for a limited time you can buy a classroom set of 25 books for $25, yes, 25 books for $25, (plus $5 shipping and handling), but you have to order before my next newsletter is available. Follow this link to purchase:
Join Us for the 8th Annual Springdale Cemetery Tour
We are making plans for the 8th Annual Springdale Cemetery Tour Oct. 9, 10, 16, 17 with performances starting promptly at 2:00 and 4:00 pm. Plan now to attend! Click here to print bookmarks to pass out to all of your friends!!
To honor the sesquicentennial of the Civil War here is a character from years past and a lesson plan for helping students step into character:
A Civil War Story and a Lesson Plan: Stepping Into Character
Mathias Stritt (1821-1888)
I remember well that morning, April 12, 1861, when General Beauregard fired his cannons on Fort Sumter. The roar of that cannon echoed from the bay of Charlestown across this country from the Alleghenies to the Rockies, and re-echoed around the world, drawing the eyes of tyrants who scoffed at our experiments in liberty and democracy.
I was one of the first to sign the roles and volunteer here in Peoria joining the 11th Calvary in this effort to save our nation. I, I am Mathias Stritt. To read more of this story follow this link
June 3, 2010
Welcome to summer! This spring I performed off-broadway, (at a little Catholic School off 96th ;-), went to several wonderful birding festivals, and a slew of Earth Day events. We have already had our first riverboat ride. And I am more than a little excited about some of the Chautauquas and summer festivals already on my schedule! In this issue:
In late April and again in early June I spent a week in New York City! I saw lots of plays and musicals including, in ascending order:
Rock of Ages, is a trite but fun story of boy meets girl that uses everyone’s favorite 80’s rock anthems, by bands with big hair, narrated by a funny, hipster version of Shakespeare’s Puck.
David Mamet’s Race, is a mind-bending intellectually challenging discussion of post-modern attitudes about race relations.
FELA! is an inspirational Afro-beat musical that explores contemporary African politics through the life of one musician… Everybody will get up on their feet and dance a revolution!
Green Day’s Rock Opera, American Idiot is simply astounding, a coming of age story of angst and depression, rising above and moving on, filled with really hot music, astute political commentary, and an unusual but effective use of video images to help propel the story with very little dialogue, truly operatic!
Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson was one of the best musicals I have ever seen in the literally hundreds of productions I have had the pleasure to relish!
To read more about these plays, and others I might see this week, please visit my Blog.
Storytelling CDs are a great way for the whole family to pass long summer car rides.
Adventures In Nature I & II can help your family connect with the wild world and get your kids excited about a summer camping trip. Fun With Fables is a collection of animal stories from around the world allowing your family to travel the globe during a stay-cation! River Ghosts and Civil War Ghosts and Legends will give you a wider repertoire of scary stories to shiver your friends at a bonfire! And if you are planning a tour of Lincoln sites, Lincoln Tales Tall and True will help bring the sites to life. Buy five or more CDs and they are only $10 each!
My favorite review came from a soccer team: A teacher and soccer mom sent me an e-mail telling me the story about one time she took her pubescent son to soccer practice. One of my CDs was in the player as she was listening to it earlier in the day as a way to learn the story. Not sure if he would be into it, she let it play as he got into the car. At first he was like, “What is is this?” but within a few minutes he was hooked. After practice, when she was giving several kids a ride home, he asked if she would play it again for his friends. They were reluctant to get out of the car when it arrived at their homes. (It gets better.) The next time she played chauffer, they insisted on listening to it again! Storytelling CDs became popular birthday presents!
This spring I had the great good fortune to go birding all across the United States from Ascutney Mountain, Vermont to the Western Rockies of the Four Corners region! (Have I told you lately how much I love my job?) Just a few highlights:
Excerpted from Content Area Reading, Writing and Storytelling
Where is the person who, upon seeing this lovely little hummingbird moving on humming winglets through the air, suspended as if by magic in it, flitting from one flower to another, with motions as graceful as they are light and airy, and yielding new delights wherever it is seen--where is the person, I ask of you, who, on observing this glittering fragment of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and instantly turn his mind with reverence toward the majesty of creation? --There breathes not such a person; so kindly have we all been blessed with that intuitive and noble feeling--admiration!
Its gorgeous throat in beauty and brilliancy baffles all competition. Now it glows with a fiery hue, and again it is changed to the deepest velvety black. Upon closer inspection the smallest feathers of the ‘ruby throat’ are designed with a slight curvature, much like the mirror a surgeon wears on his forehead to concentrate the light. The feathers, rays, barbs and barbules capture the light, reflect and refract it, like a prism, so that the brightest ruby hue flashes at you if you are facing this flicker of light. The upper parts of its delicate body are of resplendent changing green; and it throws itself through the air with a swiftness and vivacity hardly conceivable. At rest, its heart beats more than 250 times per minute, and when it is flitting about, its heart rate leaps to 1,250 beats per minute! To read more visit my web page.
Knowing it is easier to teach rewriting strategies when working with someone else’s writing, this lesson helps students develop their skills in deciphering historical text and then learn to rewrite this text with more modern language and updated scientific information. In this dynamic lesson students will compare and contrast Audubon’s essay about their favorite bird with more contemporary scientific essays. They will immerse themselves into the life of one bird, and in so doing learn general concepts in ornithology that can be applied to other bird species. To see the complete lesson plan follow this link
Singing Up the Sun - Swimming Through the Moon:
New and Collected Poems by Brian “Fox” Ellis - Illustrations by Ram Lee
Singing Up the Sun is a celebration of our relationship to nature, while Swimming Through the Moon is an exploration of human nature. In the tradition of Mary Oliver and Gary Snyder, these poems move beyond the Romantic notion of using nature as merely a metaphor, they plumb the depth of inherent meaning found in the wild world. Like Dylan Thomas, this poet writes a poem every year on his birthday as an anchor in an ever changing world. Fox also enjoys playing with genre, so there are free verses, list poems, haiku, and a triolette. Poetry written over the past 30 years gives the reader a deeper view into the life of a poet’s evolution from idealistic youth through the land of dreams fulfilled into the ripeness of middle age.
Buy five copies, one for each of your friends, and I will give you a free copy as a gift for yourself!
This will be my 17th season on the riverboat and to keep things fresh for the crew and our guests we have a new chef, Debbie, a new piano player Ken Bradbury and several new sets of stories and songs. The biggest change, and the one I am most excited about, we are hosting several themed cruises:
Birding on the River September 13 & 14,
The Civil War August 16 & 17,\\
Eagles on the River October 25 & 26
Please plan to join us on an overnight cruise please visit The Spirit of Peoria
I am happy to say my summer is nearly full, but I do have a sprinkling of dates if you have not confirmed your calendar! Please ContactFox if you would like to schedule a program. Please check my Calendar to see if I might be in a town near you!
Fox will portray Audubon for the Boise Art Museum June 30-July 1, 2.
Fox will re-enact Audubon’s Arrival for the bi-centennial of Henderson Kentucky, July 3 & 4.
Fox will portray John James Audubon and Edgar Allen Poe for the High Plains Chautauqua in Greeley, CO August 3- 7.
Fox will portray Edgar Allen Poe and Walt Whitman for the Prairieland Chautauqua Sept 3 & 4.
April 15, 2010
Obviously, I have had a crazy busy winter… and we are well into spring! The proof is this: I have not had time to put together a newsletter in several months! I took the month of January as a short sabbatical from performing to work on writing. I am happy to report that the time has been overflowing with wonder and fruitful projects… the topic of several articles:
After two years of writing and rewriting, casting and rehearsing, applying for grants, filming and editing, I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am about the final product!
To make an overly long story very short: The idea began with a stage show for the Clean Water Celebration that was modeled after a fake news ‘mock-umentary.’ I wanted to use lots of humor to introduce complex ideas about cleaning up the Illinois River all with a positive, pro-active you can make a difference attitude!
The show was such a hit that our meager attempts at comedy made Joan Root Eriksen cry… tears of joy. She wrote the first grant to help us make it into a film. (Thank you Sun Foundation!) My favorite twist: our film is based on a stage show modeled after a documentary!
My hero and new friend, Frank Blain from Pro-Video stepped up to help film, and became co-producer/director.
I could tell a dozen funny stories about waterskiing and kayaking in a suit and tie, flying carp, and finding a dead body during the River-sweep, (the cops determined it was actually a deer, but why was it wrapped in a camo-tarp with flippy-floppies and sun glasses?!?!!!). You will have to watch the film to see how much fun environmental activism can really be!
The grants from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway funded 200 free DVDs to teachers living in the Illinois River Watershed, most will be given away at the Clean Water Celebration, but drop me an e-mail if you would like to purchase copies for all of your friends. (Only $10 each, plus shipping and handling.)
Of course I have LessonPlans to help teachers use the film to teach science, creative writing, and social studies. Follow the links to download the lesson plans.
And you can Watch a trailer on YouTube.
It is hard to pick my favorite moments from the film, but here are two:
The Dance of the Whooping Crane is a poem I wrote, beautifully animated by Vin Luong with film footage from my brother Bruce.
Here is short music video I wrote and produced. It features Barry Cloyd and some amazing Chicago bluesmen, Filmed and edited by Frank Blain of ProVideo: "The Catfish Blues"
This book was thirty years in the making, no lie!
I have published two books of poetry that are for students of poetry, “Frog Songs” a collection of haiku, and “Song of the Red Fox” an eclectic collection of poetry for upper elementary and junior high, but in both instances folks wisely counseled me to remove a poem or two so it was more classroom friendly.
This book includes some of those poems! It also includes my birthday poems, a series of nature poems and a series about human nature. Click here to read a birthday poem.
The book was beautifully illustrated by Ram Lee, a gifted tattoo artist living in Michigan. It will be available for purchase at Amazon.com sometime later this spring.
My publishers have informed me that one of the most important tools in marketing my books is to get favorable reviews on Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble and on my web page.
SOOO, please allow me to ask a huge favor and offer a little reward:
The first ten people to write an honest, unbiased book review of any of my books available at the major on-line bookstores AND send me a link, along with your address, will receive a free copy of my new film, “Voices for the River.”
Here are some links to get you started:
Amazon Books
The Web at Dragonfly Pond
Learning From the Land
Content Area Reading
Darwin’s Revolutionary Idea
Barnes and Nobles:
The Web at Dragonfly Pond
Learning From the Land
Content Area Storytelling
We are in the final edits, but the whole book should be posted on their web page by the end of the week. There are great lesson plans for introducing students to river history and geography and water quality testing, but the focus is on helping teachers and community organizers plan and implement an event that guarantees a long range impact on the quality of your local watershed! If you would like one of our committee members to help, please contact us.
(Excerpted from my latest book, Content Area Reading Writing and Storytelling. Follow the link to purchase the book and the follow-up lesson plans blending creative writing, botany and a wildflower walk!)
Many long winters ago, the people of this land were hunters and gatherers. There were times of great feasting and times of great hunger.
During the summer they would follow the herds of bison, gather the berries and nuts, from the fields and forests, dig the roots and tubers, learning from the land where and when to gather their foods.
But during the winter when the snow was deep and the ground was frozen, there was little to eat and it was difficult to hunt. During these lean times the people would grow hungry. Sometimes they would starve before the spring returned to the earth.
Among the people there was a young man named Wunza. He was old enough that he would soon go alone into the wilderness to fast and pray, to seek a vision, to ask those age old questions that we still wrestle with today: Who am I? Why am I here? What are my gifts and talents? What can I do to make the world a better place? In this time he knew he should pay close attention to his dreams and to the plants and animals who might come to visit. Each of them may hold an answer to his prayers.
As spring was changing to summer, Wunza was changing from a boy to a man. His village would have held a feast for him but there was little food to be had. One warm spring morning as the sun rose over the eastern hills, Wunza went out alone into the wilderness.
What caught his eye as he walked along were all of the shades of green, light and dark green, reddish green and yellow green, green with hints of blue and purple. He saw the plants were in various stages of growth. Some of the early blooming woodland flowers were already fading and making seed, yet some of the prairie grasses were just beginning to sprout. The wild strawberries were flowering and would soon be bearing fruit. Read more…
One of my favorite publishers, Dawn Publications, is giving away $350 worth of their Sharing Nature with Children picture books as part of a contest to help celebrate the birthday or Earthday! Simply write a short one page story about how you use one of their books to help kids connect to nature. Follow this link for more details, but get to work, the deadline is April 22!
I have made a New Year’s Resolution to blog more! Click on the title to read my most recent post! And here is a lesson plan to help students write with a specific audience in mind:
Whenever a writer sits down at his or her computer to type a story, though it seems to be a solitary act, there are two worlds that should rise up, one on each shoulder: One is the world of imagination and past experience, the stuff stories are made from; the other is the imagined audience, the folks who will one day read this story. A good writer keeps both in mind while crafting the tale. A good writer is the bridge between these words.
Sometimes, though rarely, a story comes to you fully formed. Always, a story improves when rewritten, tweaked or adapted for the intended audience.
Every author would like to think that his or her story is a timeless work of art, but truth be told, most writers make their living writing content for web pages, corporate newsletters, marketing campaigns, television, films, magazines, and/or news outlets.
In the following assignment imagine yourself a writer for a national travel magazine. Your intended audience is both folks like you and the leading demographics for travel: young families, middle aged couples, and baby-boomers. The purpose of this assignment is to promote tourism along the Illinois River Road National Scenic Byway. Read more…
I am happy to say my summer is nearly full, but I do have asprinkling of dates if you have not confirmed your calendar! Please ContactFox if you would like to schedule a program. Please check my Calendar to see if I might be in a town near you!
February 22, 2010
It has been a busy couple of months with two new books in process, more news later, and a hectic touring schedule, but here is the next installment of the Fox Tales Newsletter:
With many library summer reading programs focused on Make A SPalsh, let me recommend my children's picture book about aquatic ecology The Web at Dragonfly Pond
October 20, 2009
Hello Folks,
Two newsletters in two months! This looks like it might be a little more periodic than I anticipated! I hope you are not getting too accustomed to this regularity. I do hope you enjoy the stories of the month and the weblinks are useful. If you have any questions or topics you would like me to cover please feel encouraged to Contact Fox
In this month's issue you can read about:
Rivers of Memory
The Catfish Blues
How to Tell a Scary Story
Stories of the Month: He Stepped on a Nail & He Got Out
American Indian Heritage Month
Darwin in Denver
Upcoming programs
Rivers of Memory
Today is yet another beautiful day on the Illinois River! It is hard to believe I have been telling stories on this boat for 16 years! At this very moment we are passing through the narrows, the most narrow stretch in 273 miles of the River Illinois. It was here in the mid-1840s that Captain Henry Detweiller crashed his steamboat into another boat heading downstream and the hull of his boat is still here in the silty mud at the bottom of the river.
On the port side is the Illinois American Water Company, which still uses one of the original pumping houses, now registered with the National Historic Preservation Association. It has real gargoyles for water spouts and still pumps Illinois River water into our pipes so those who ride the boat now have the river flowing through their blood streams.
There is a great blue heron wading in the shallows along the shore, bringing up the rear of the fall migration as the autumnal leaves are finally beginning to change and the hillsides catch fire with flames of red, orange, bronze and yellow trees.
We just passed a barge carrying corn or beans as the fall harvest begins and the rich fertile alluvial fill of this river valley continues to feed the world!
About 20 times a year we float up this river on an overnight cruise. As we travel, part of my job is to talk about the sights along the way and to share the history of the river.
As I love to tell passengers, "If you forget everything else I say, remember this: There are layers and layers of history everywhere you look, as soon as you open your eyes to look for it!"
These layers include:
There are layers and layers of stories waiting to be explored.
Many cultures believe that the land itself is stalking us with stories. As I look out the window of the boat, I am amazed at how everywhere I look along the river a story jumps up, literally: up out of the water jumps an Asian carp exclaiming a tale of invasive species and fisheries management; the willow bank speaks to me of duck hunters and the early conservation movement; and upon the cliff face hangs the spirit of the Piasa, the evil Manito that once devoured entire villages!
Open your eyes and begin to look anew, what are the rivers of memory that lurk from behind every shrub and stone? What are the layers of history that lay just below the surface?
Click here for lesson plans to bring River History to life!
If you wish to join us on an overnight cruise please visit The Spirit of Peoria.
To purchase CDs of Fox's River Stories, please follow this link.
The Catfish Blues
I'm a catfish, c-a-a-a-t-fish, singing the catfish blues!
With heartfelt gratitude to Joan Erickson and the Sun Foundation for commissioning the work and many thanks to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for funding, we are in the final edit of a new documentary film, "Voices For the River."
Modeled after a John Stewart or Stephen Colbert fake news show, inspired by Michael Moore and the whole series of Spinal-Tap mock-umentaries, our hope is to be first and foremost entertaining. There is a lot of humor and a boat load of vital information about the history of the problem and most importantly, what you can do to make a difference in the health of the river. Our goal is to be proactive. We can make a difference!
We have posted an MTV style video of the Catfish��s point of view and a pre-view trailer about the making of the film on YouTube. Check it out!
The film should be done in the next few weeks, so watch my web page for more information!
How to Tell a Scary Story &
Stories of the Month: He Stepped on a Nail & He Got Out
Several years ago I wrote an article on How to Tell a Scary Story for the American Library Association's magazine BookLinks. Since Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I would dust it off and share it with you, along with two of my favorite easy to tell scary stories. If you scroll down to the bottom of the article there is an extensive bibliography of stories you can learn and tell. Click on a title to follow the links! And try not to shriek too loudly!
American Indian Heritage Month
Next month is American Indian Heritage Month, quite fitting to celebrate our Native ancestry during the same month as Thanksgiving. I present a lot of Native folktales and history all year round, but it seems there are more of these programs in November. I once asked an elder, "When people ask me about a Native American perspective on Thanksgiving, what should I tell them?"
He laughed and said, tongue in cheek, "I think it is funny that some folks only give thanks one day a year. For us, we give thanks every day we are alive, every moment, every meal, every breath!"
That thought has stayed with me. On this day, I give thanks for the gift of story. I give thanks to the elders who kept the stories alive and passed them on so I could tell them to you. I give thanks to the folks who love stories and make the effort to support the art, supporting artists by buying tickets and CDs and sharing the stories with their friends. I give thanks to the future generations of storytellers who are not yet born, those whose faces are not yet pushing up from the earth but will someday share these stories with our great-grandchildren��s children!
In this spirit of gratitude and to pass the stories along, here are some lesson plans and a few of my favorite web sites for Native Folklore:
Turtle Island Tales
American Indian Stories by ZITKALA-SA (Gertrude Bonnin ) A Dakota Sioux Indian This is an unusual biography of a woman with a traditional upbringing and wonderful story, woven with folklore images.
Native Legends Scroll down for an index of hundreds of stories from dozens of Nations. As with any on-line resource a fair amount of sifting is required, but there are many gems wrth the surf.
American Indians in Children's Literature This is a blog by Debbie Reese sure to challenge and enlighten!
Please remember, when looking for stories from a culture other than your own, always make the effort to find stories written by a member of that cultural group!
Darwin in Denver
This is not only Darwin's 200th birthday, but November is the 150th anniversary of the publication of his controversial book, "On the Origin of Species." In November I will be performing as Darwin for the University of New Mexico Las Cruces, The North American Biology Teachers Conference, and the Denver Museum of Natural Sciences.
In celebration of this momentous moment I have published a book, Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea, and a series of articles to help teachers make sense of this complex idea that is the foundation of all biological research. These articles have been published by the North Carolina and Iowa Science Teacher magazines, to name a few.
I also have a few dates still available if any teachers in the Denver area are interested in hosting a performance November 17 or 18. (Please contact me right away if you are interested.)
Upcoming programs
I hope to see you in the audience at an upcoming program OR if you see I am going to be in your neighborhood, please drop me an e-mail to book a show! Here is a partial list of some upcoming shows:
October 28 at Noon Fox will be portraying Charles Darwin for an Illinois Humanities Council luncheon in Downtown Chicago.
November 1, at 1:30 Fox will be sharing “Lincoln Tales Tall and True” at Graue Mill and Museum in Oak Brook, IL. Event is free and open to the public, sponsored through the Illinois Humanities Council.
November 10, at 9:00 am Fox will present “Charles Darwin and his Revolutionary Idea at the University of New Mexico, Las Cruces.
November 11, at 2:00 pm Fox will present “Adventures with Audubon” at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History in Albuquerque, NM.
November 12, at 9:00 am, Fox will keynote the North American Biology Teachers Conference in Denver.
November 14, Fox will present a docent workshop at 9:00, perform as Audubon at 1:00 and then present a teacher workshop at 2:00, all at the Denver Zoo in Denver, CO.
November 15, at 4:00, .
November 20 & 27, at 7:00 Fox will be part of the program for Dozing with Dinos at Chicago’s Field Museum.
November 28, and December 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, & 16, Prairie Folklore Theatre will present “A Prairie Christmas” on the Spirit of Peoria riverboat. Call for reservations: 309-689-8000.
September 15, 2009
Hello Folks,
Finally, after a few years of planning and getting distracted with book deadlines�K My first e-mail newsletter! Because we have traded e-mail at some point you were automatically added to my e-mail newsletter list. If you would like to erase your name from the list please scroll to the bottom. If you enjoy these little nuggets, please share them with a friend! Every other month or so, you will receive a bit of news, a story, and some ideas for creating your own stories. Please tell me what you think of this new adventure!
To read a more interactive version with more links and photos please visit my webpage Newsletter. To see what I have been up to lately please visit my blog.
WOW! There is so much good news to share�K where do I begin?
In this issue you will find:
News from the Frontlines of Literacy
Two new books find their way to Print:
Content Area Reading, Writing, and Storytelling and
Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea
A chunk of December was spent in the studio to record three new CDs
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Abraham Lincoln��s Birthday!
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Charles Darwin��s Birthday!
On a Road Trip to Tennessee A New Young Authors�� Blog is Born
News From the Frontlines of Literacy
Everywhere I go I am encouraged by the number of kids excited about books, reading and literacy. I know there are national trends that say kids are reading less and watching more TV, playing more video games. We have all seen test scores slide. It would be easy to get depressed and join the chorus of critics, but everywhere I go I become more optimistic.
It is always thrilling to me when kids show up ten or twenty minutes early to a program and we talk about what they are reading and they articulate insightfully why they love a particular book. Or, at a library in Chicago, a mother grabs one of the books the librarian has put out and reads to her child with drama and voice changes while waiting for the performance to start.
Last week I was at Morton Public library in Morton, Illinois for their summer reading program. The number of kids who showed up from this small town was impressive. The number of books they read even more staggering! The librarian pulled out all the stops to create a wonderful celebration of reading and everyone present was enriched! I had several conversations with kids about the books they were reading and was quite impressed with their appreciation for authors and illustrators, their summaries of storylines, and visceral response to books, books and more books!
At Rogers Park Library on the North Side of Chicago, two nine year old girls arrived early while I was still setting up. After a brief hello, I handed them one of my books to distract them while I finished getting ready. I found out later one was from Mexico and her friend was from Puerto Rico. Clearly, English was a second language for both of them. The simple fact that they came was encouraging, listening to them read, struggle with the enunciation and helping each other gain meaning from the text was thrilling. In their chatter they asked questions about words, went off on tangents about fish, birds and frogs to make the story personal, and made connections between text and imagery; basically they did everything a good reading teacher would ask them to do�K and there was no one looking over their shoulder and coaching them.
As long as there are active parents, good teachers and enthusiastic librarians I am not worried about the future of literacy in America!
My new book, Content Area Reading, Writing, and Storytelling is finally done!
This fall, Libraries Unlimited published a collection of stories and lesson plans designed to give teachers fresh ideas in literacy education using storytelling and creative writing across the curriculum. The book includes fun stories, easy to use lesson plans and lots of ideas to help students find their voice and improve reading and writing skills. There are beautiful illustrations by my friend Vin Luong. I am presenting a wide range of teacher training programs this year to support the book. I will also be a keynote speaker at nearly a dozen state and national teachers�� conferences. Call to book an in-service workshop or performance for your school or district. Order copies of the book for all of your teacher friends to help them start the New Year with bright ideas!
Content Area Storytelling
A View from the River (With one of my favorite River Stories)
(The following is a brief excerpt from the introduction to my new book:)
Today as I type this, I am working on a riverboat on the Illinois River. The boat cruises up stream at seven miles an hour against a strong current; we have had a bit of rain this week, rain that is the remnant of a tropical storm that gathered its waters from the Atlantic Coast of Africa and crashed into the Gulf Coast a few days ago. I watch a beautiful snowy�Vwhite egret stalk fish along the river��s shore. I watch as she wades in the shallows, silently stalking her prey. Her head darts into the water and she struggles to swallow a large squirming fish. She stands still for several moments, glancing around. The egret simultaneously leaps up and flaps her wings to get lift, rising from the river. I know we are in between the spring and fall migration; the young have fledged and are stretching their wings. In just a few weeks millions of birds will wing their way from the Great North Woods to the Tropical Rain Forest, from the Arctic plains to Tierra del Fuego. They all stop to rest and refuel along this river. My imagination longs to follow them south.
Global climate issues and the water cycle, the algebra and geometry of a storm��s travel and river��s rise, the aerodynamic flight of birds, the amazing journey of migration, and the intense drama of predator-prey relations are all brought to life in this tiny piece of a poetic passage, a photographic moment within a story. Stories are the raft that carries you through the delta of your imagination!
Come on, climb aboard, and take a ride to see where stories just might lead you!
To read one of my favorite river boat stories follow the link The Walking Catfish
If you wish to join us on an overnight cruise please visit The Spirit of Peoria
A chunk of December was spent in the studio to record three new CDs
In addition to recording the book Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea, I also recorded a new CD of Celtic Stories, Under an Ancient Oak. It includes several of my favorite Irish and Scottish stories, a few poems, and some amazing music from
In addition to recording the book Charles Darwin and His Revolutionary Idea, I also recorded a new CD of Celtic Stories, Under an Ancient Irish Oak. It includes several of my favorite Irish and Scottish stories, a few poems, and some amazing music from The RoundStone Buskers, my favorite Irish Band. I also worked with my old buddy Barry Cloyd to weave together songs and stories for Prairie Folklore Theatre��s new CD, Civil War Ghosts and Legends, which includes several ��true�� stories woven with poetry by Walt Whitman, songs from Stephen Foster, and fiction from Ambrose Bierce. Follow the links to hear an excerpt or buy a copy!
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Abraham Lincoln��s Birthday!
Prepare now for the Bi-Centennial of Charles Darwin��s Birthday!
Did you know that Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln have the same Birthday? February 12, 1809! I am curious to see which programs are more popular. February was bursting at the seams and it appears that Lincoln is ahead, but this fall is also the 150th anniversary of the publication of ��On the Origin of Species�� so we will see. Next February 2010 is also filling up quickly! Drop me an e-mail to book a show.
In celebration of Darwin��s birthday, I have already spoken at several state science teachers�� conferences including Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico, and Colorado. I will be a keynote speaker at the Nebraska conference in October, The National Biology Teachers Conference in Denver in November, and the Ohio Science teachers�� conference in February . I adamantly believe that teachers need to hear what Darwin said, instead of the misquoted, misunderstood, misinterpreted nonsense. Towards this end I have published a series of articles about Darwin with the author of The Voyage of the Beatle, Ann Weaver; the goal of these articles is to provide teachers with lesson plans to teach inquiry and evolution. Most of my script is taken directly from his text. If you are interested in inviting Charles Darwin to your school, nature center or conference, please follow this link for more information The Voyage of the Beagle
If you would like to purchase a copy of my new book, Charles Dawin and His Revolutionary Idea, based on this performance, please follow the link. The aforementioned series of magazine articles to celebrate Darwin include classroom tested lesson plans that support the book.
DARWIN VS. LINCOLN!
Because I live in Illinois I must admit I am a huge fan of Abraham Lincoln. I now have four programs about the life of Lincoln. I perform as a childhood friend of Lincoln in Lincoln Tales Tall and True.
I perform as Walt Whitman who wrote one of the most powerful accounts of Lincoln��s Assassination
William Herndon, Lincoln��s law partner, speaks about Lincoln��s illustrious career as a lawyer
And Mathias Stritt, a German Immigrant and Civil War soldier gives a personal account of the war, woven with short stories by Ambrose Pierce and poetry by Whitman, Civil War Ghosts and Legends
I have already been booked for more than 100 shows this year as ��A Friend of Lincoln!�� Visit my calendar to see when I might be presenting a program near you.
Order a copy of my CD Lincoln Tales Tall and True to learn a few tales of your own!
Visit my web page for a set of lesson plans so you can write and tell a few Lincoln tales of your own!
On a Road Trip to Tennessee A New Young Authors�� Blog is Born
At this moment my teenage daughter is driving me home from a trip to Tennessee where we visited my father and several of her friends from the Tennessee Young Writers Workshop. Not only is this a great program with published authors as instructors, (I was a guest lecturer one year ;), but she made several life-long friends, hence the visit. Over the course of the weekend I found myself engaged in several conversations with parents and my daughter��s friends about writing and publishing. I was inspired by the questions they asked, their insightful comments about their work and most potently by their self-motivated drive and determination. They write because they love to write!
I have also been a featured speaker at several dozen Young Author events over the years. I enjoy discussing my work. But even more so, I enjoy hearing about their work and the issues they struggle with as writers. Inspired by my daughter, her friends, and the hundreds of Young Authors I work with every year I have created this blog to share some thoughts, practical instruction and a little inspiration, as little as possible. I also hope to create a space where Young Authors can share their work, thoughts and a little more inspiration. If you would like to share, drop me a short query, maybe 50-100 words about the topic you wish to explore or a synopsis of your story and then I will gladly post the work that fits. Check back frequently to see what your peers and colleagues are writing about!
For teachers, encourage your writing classes to utilize some of my lesson plans and send me the results! OR Read through the blog and send me a short essay, 200 �V 500 words about why they like to write or why writing is important or about something they read that inspired their writing, or�K or�K or�K
For my first entry, I would like to share three simple ideas that have the potential to help all aspiring writers to make the grade and move from a wannabe to a published author�K Follow this link to read more: Young Authors' Blog
DIVERSITY! A shout out to fellow storytellers about beating the economic downturn!
This past year I have made an extended effort to stretch myself as a storyteller and challenge my audience to broaden their concepts of what storytelling is and can be. Towards this end I found myself working in venues that I had not even considered. Based on an organic business model, diversity is a foundation for more than just survival, but a thriving ecosystem. I would encourage fellow storytellers to always keep their ears open for unusual opportunities where their talents might find purpose.
What are the varieties of work you have already done?
How might some of these projects morph into something new and productive?
To look at it another way, I like to say, ��The more pans I have in the fire, the more likely there is food on the table!�� I know that sometimes certain things are simmering on a back burner and other things are bubbling up and over, needing stirring to keep it from burning, while other projects will go into the freezer to be enjoyed later when there isn��t much coming in.
Speaking more specifically, this past year:
I was invited to write the narration and perform stories with the Galesburg/Knox College Symphony Choral. They even took one of my poems and hired a composer to turn it into a choral piece for four part harmonies. To hear this poem sing with eighty voices and an amazing piano accompaniment was truly heavenly.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency hired me to write, produce, direct and narrate a documentary film based on oral history interviews to explore the problems with the Illinois River and look for possible solutions. It is in the format of a John Stewart fake news comedy and there is Youtube preview on my home page.
I developed a one-man show as Charles Darwin and through a proactive marketing campaign was hired by a dozen state science teacher conferences to perform before several thousand teachers, all potential clients for more storytelling. I also turned the script into a book and CD that is supported by lesson plans published in about a dozen state science teacher magazines.
I took my performances as a friend of Abraham Lincoln, wrote four new songs, and stretched it into a musical theatre production for four actors. This has been touring the Midwest, focusing on the old vaudeville era opera houses that are being restored for community theatre.
During the past sixteen summers I have been the Riverlorian for a paddle-wheel boat, I recently used this experience to work closely with tourism boards to train historical interpreters and write brochures and scripts to assist them in the art of telling their stories.
There are three new CDs, two new books, and the typical tours of libraries, schools and conferences, but I have also been reaching out to art, science and history museums, performing at thematic festivals, (not storytelling festivals), and looking everywhere to find new audiences. This not only keeps me busy, but this work blazes trails for other storytellers to create new work.
Diversity is the key to making our work recession proof!
Never let anyone put storytellers in a box!
Life is good and promises to get better!
Brian ��Fox�� Ellis
Here is a brief list of a few exciting upcoming programs you might want to catch if you are in the neighborhood�K or better yet, visit my calendar and see if I am passing through so you can book a show, sharing my travel expenses!
Friday and Saturday, September 4 & 5, Sterling, IL Storytelling Festival
Sunday and Monday, September 6 & 7, Jacksonville, IL Chautauqua
September 11, @ 7:00 Deere-Wiman Home, Rock Island, IL
September 14-15, 21-22, 27-30 The Spirit of Peoria riverboat!
October 2, A teacher workshop at The Denver Museum of Natural History
October 3-4, 10-11, Annual Springdale Cemetery Tour in Peoria, IL
October 9, The Nebraska Science Teachers�� Conference
October 16, Midwest Environmental Education Conference, Urbana, IL
AUGUST 2008
Kayaking the Mississippi
While touring Mississippi libraries last month I had a magical afternoon kayaking on the lower Mississippi River while the flood waters crested. What a mighty river! I have paddled much of the Upper Miss and countless tributaries from the large Illinois and Ohio Rivers to the smaller Kickapoo Creek and Spoon River, but I had never experienced a river with so much power.
I found the Quapaw Canoe Company on-line. John Sloan, the owner and chief guide, is very knowledgeable about the river. He carves traditional dugout canoes, and he is an amazing blues musician. He leads groups of two to twenty. He supplies all of your gear. Now he has branch offices in St. Louis, Clarksdale and Helena.
He and his crew are pumping life back into several smaller river towns through eco-tourism. He employs several high school kids each summer and just opened a new shop in Helena, Ark with the expressed aim of helping more folks fall in love with the river through an adventurous first hand encounter.
We put in where the Saint Francis River empties into the Ol�� Miss. The clear water swirling and mixing in with the muddy Mississippi was by itself an astounding sight. Because the current was flowing at nine miles per hour, our main goal was to steer the boat, the river did all of the work. I saw a least tern, several Mississippi kites, a pileated woodpecker and prothonatory warbler and I did not even have my new binoculars.
25 Birds in 25 Minutes!
Last month, Eagle Optics signed on as a sponsor of my current tour, ��Adventures with Audubon.�� Eagle Optics is the premiere on-line source for binoculars and spotting scopes. As rare as an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in the world of on-line shopping, they offer great service and great prices. From the high end Zweiss spotting scopes to the affordable Bushnell binoculars they have the right tool to bring your bird watching to the next level. Visit their web page to check out the great deals: Eagle Optics
I have a new pair of Vortex 8x42 binoculars that I got from Eagle Optics. I just love them. I was performing for the Shabbona Historical Society a few weeks ago and had a little free time before the program so I went out to Shabbona State park for a quick early morning bird hike. Within moments of stepping out of my car and onto the trail I had seen several common species: red-winged black birds, robins, cardinals, blue jay, morning doves, a brown headed cowbird and starlings. There were a number of swallows swirling above the lake eating insects. It is simply amazing what a difference good binoculars can make: I was able to follow the swallows in their swoops and swirls to differentiate between the purple martins, greenish tree swallows and dusky brown northern rough winged swallows and blue backed orange throated barn swallows. I could see the different head stripes of the common English sparrow and not so common chipping sparrow. I saw my first orchard oriole of the year; they are a darker red than their orange cousin, the northern or Baltimore oriole.
There were mallards out on the lake. I saw a female wood duck sitting on its house. A belted kingfisher dove for a minnow right before me. I saw great blue herons and a white egret.
Out on the edge of the forest and prairie I saw a meadowlark, bluebird, kingbird, indigo bunting, red-tailed hawk and a turkey vulture circling overhead �K 25 birds in 25 minutes�K
I have long been a bird watcher, but not until I stepped up to a better pair of binoculars did I realize how important good optics really are. Thank you Eagle Optics.
Life is good and promises to get better!
