Whether it is England's most famous son - The Bard; William Shakespeare - the great oral tragedians of Ancient Greece - Hesiod or Homer - or even the comically inept Village Bard Cacofonix from the Asterix stories, there has always been a tradition of storytelling in the world.
History, moral guidance, warnings of dangers in the world, or just for the amusement of those they told to: stories have had many uses, and still do today. The best teachers bring concepts alive with tales to back up their points. A persuasive politician spins a yarn that captures your imagination.
Traditionally the term Bard would have been synonymous with a Minstrel, or Wandering Poet. Nowadays it is more likely to mean an epic storyteller - in either the theatre, through cinema and television, or on radio. Yet there are still great live performances available; the Beyond The Border storytelling festival is one such venue, and every year the Latitude Festival has hosted a stage of readings and at least one children's storyteller.
So to be a bard, what do you need? The simple answer is: Stories. Whether your own, or traditional stories, it doesn;t matter. If you can learn and then perform them you too can be a Bard.
History, moral guidance, warnings of dangers in the world, or just for the amusement of those they told to: stories have had many uses, and still do today. The best teachers bring concepts alive with tales to back up their points. A persuasive politician spins a yarn that captures your imagination.
Traditionally the term Bard would have been synonymous with a Minstrel, or Wandering Poet. Nowadays it is more likely to mean an epic storyteller - in either the theatre, through cinema and television, or on radio. Yet there are still great live performances available; the Beyond The Border storytelling festival is one such venue, and every year the Latitude Festival has hosted a stage of readings and at least one children's storyteller.
So to be a bard, what do you need? The simple answer is: Stories. Whether your own, or traditional stories, it doesn;t matter. If you can learn and then perform them you too can be a Bard.