Suddenly They Heard Footsteps: Storytelling for the Twenty-first Century
“Yashinsky sows stories along the wayside as he explains how and why listeners are hooked, reveals the secrets of story hosts, and describes the extraordinary characters who have sparked the contemporary international revival of this most universal and durable of the arts. Yashinsky himself is one of those extraordinary characters. He gives us much to laugh at, provoke thought, wonder about, and remember and pass on. If the wordawesomehad not been rendered meaningless by trendiness, it would be the adjective for this book. As it is,spell-bindingwill do.”—Jane Jacobs, author ofThe Death and Life of Great American CitiesandDark Age Ahead“If you can’t sit down for a cup of tea and a chat with Yashinsky, sitting down with this book is a close second.”—Winnipeg Free Press“Suddenly They Heard Footstepsis at once a polemic for storytelling and a personal memoir, a handbook for prospective storytellers and an anthology of tales from which the reader may borrow. It is a passionate work of deeply held belief….Readers will come away fromSuddenly They Heard Footstepswith all the basic tools and the inspiration they need to try storytelling for themselves.”—Quill & Quire“A melange of memoir, social history and how-to guide, Yashinsky’s love of the spoken word imbues the whole package with warm authority.”—The Toronto Star“In celebrating the storyteller’s art, Yashinsky has tapped into a motherlode of universal need, the thirst for a story that shows us what it is to be human.”—Edmonton Journal--This text refers to an alternatePaperbackedition.