Marc Severson As a lifelong Chicago Cubs fan, Marc is an inveterate student of history: History is ALL Cubs fans have! He graduated from the University of Arizona as an archaeologist in 1975 and went back to school in the 80s to become an elementary school teacher. As a confirmed desert dweller; he has spent more than forty years living in the southwestern United States. A n associate faculty member for Pima Community College, he was an in structor / tour guide / archaeologist for twenty years and has devoted much of his life to learning all one can about the deserts of America and the people who have chosen to live there. H e is one of those stubborn desert dwelling people. A born raconteur, Marc loves telling stories. His favorite quote is: "Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it." ~George Santayana
Deborah Mayaan: I am an energy work and flower essence practitioner, writer and artist. My writing has appeared in a wide variety of publications. My art encompasses watercolor, sculpture, installation, and leading ritual in Jewish and interfaith settings. My story tonight is excerpted from the draft of The Desert Heals: Notes from a Journey in Progress. www.deborahmayaan.com
Chase Cotter: Native New Yorker; Painter; Poet; Social Worker; Scrabble King. Best childhood gift = the big box of crayola crayons w/ the crayon sharpener in the back. This old big box had colors like sky blue, lime green, fire-engine red. Today kids attempt to make sense of the world with colors like cotton candy screamin green, razzle dazzle rose, tickle me pink . . .
Jordan Hill is a professional storyteller and wandering (wondering) minstrel of sorts, living on the road at times and telling stories along the way. As a result he's been blessed to have had a host of weird and wonderful experiences that make for some great storytelling. Yet given his love of magical tales and traditional folklore, he rarely tells his personal stories in a formal storytelling context. So he is especially grateful to Odyssey for giving him some external impetus to tell from the other side… the personal side. www.jordanhillstoryteller.com
Margaret Regan is the author of The Death of Josseline: Immigration Stories from the Arizona-Mexico Borderlands, just published by Beacon Press in Feburary. "The Birth of Jesus," the true story she tells tonight, is taken from her book. A longtime journalist in Tucson, Margaret has
w
on some 50 journalism awards for reporting on many topics, including the border, the arts and the history of the Irish in Arizona. She has been the
art critic for the Tucson Weekly since 1990 and i
s
currently serving as arts editor. Her book is available at www.beacon.org and at local bookstores, including Antigone Books.
ODYSSEY STORYTELLING PHOTOS and BIOS
MAY 6, 2010 - "Borders:
Cross- Cultural Stories"