ABSTRACT
When I arrived in Minneapolis in 1990 to teach German literature at the University of Minnesota, I had every intention of continuing storytelling in the public school system as I had done in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Gainesville, Florida. As usual, I was fortunate to find teachers and friends who provided contacts to schools in which I began working and developing my own program that formed the basis of my book Creative Storytelling: Building Community, Changing Lives. However, despite some success in Pillsbury School with a teacher committed to innovative pedagogy, I was frustrated because I felt that our work had a limited impact in just one class, and I wanted to spread the word, so to speak, to demonstrate just how effective storytelling combined with creative drama could enable children to come into their own and develop their unique skills. So, I was dissatisfied with my work and was looking for more chances to experiment in depth, looking for the right moment when my work could have more of a social impact. Yet I had to wait several years before the right opportunity came along.
