Family Stories Our Way: In Poetry, Prose, and Music

My father and I have given several workshops on family stories. Last year we presented a workshop called “Family Stories in Poetry, Prose, and Music” at the Hayner Library in Alton, Illinois. With my father, these three always go together.

I set up a structure for the workshop on how to write family stories. Pop quite naturally slid in and told a few of these stories. Our little violin trio of Pop, me, and Nancy (a young musical protege) broke into music and song spontaneously to accent the story of the moment. We displayed our published books, photo-documentation books, and the riches of family and local histories that Pop has assembled over the decades.

Oh, yes. We fed our guests well afterwards in line with the country hospitality I grew up with.