VT Untapped Special: Story Circles
Story circles and the VFC
This special episode of VT Untapped shares three stories that were recorded during a “Virtual Story Circle” in early April. A Story Circle is a supported space where participants respect the testimony of others as each person is invited to speak about their own experience. In this case, people are speaking about their experience living in Vermont during the COVID-19 global pandemic.
Emer Feeney sharing in a Virtual Story Circle
The VFC first used this model of group storytelling as a response to Tropical Storm Irene, finding that it offered a unique opportunity for individuals trying to process and understand a shared traumatic event, both by talking about their own experience and listening deeply to the experiences of others. Although we can’t safely form in-person circles at this time, the widely available video conferencing platforms to which many of us have turned to stay connected can also help us to share our experiences.
Just as each person’s experience of this time differs, every participant will relate their story in their own unique way. We hope that by bringing forth a multitude of perspectives in a group setting, participants and observers will encounter the broad scope of experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic as it unfolds—and that will come to define our collective understanding of this period in time.
These Story Circles are part of the VFC’s Listening in Place project, developed in response to the pandemic. VFC will be holding Circles on an ongoing basis according to public interest. We have also developed a facilitator’s guide for community members wishing to host their own. For more information and to hear more recordings from recent story circles, click below:
listening in place
As Vermonters deal with the realities of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Vermont Folklife Center is seeking ways to maintain our connections to one another when we most need them, engage with personal stories to strengthen our relationships, and create a record of what we are experiencing throughout the pandemic.
Listening in Place focuses on three responses to the COVID-19 emergency: the creation of a crowd-sourced Sound Archive to document our daily experiences during the pandemic, a series of online Virtual Story Circles, where Vermonters can gather remotely to listen and share during these challenging times, and Show Us Your Masks! a project to document homemade face masks created by Vermonters.
Interviews from this episode:
Excerpts shared in this show were recorded during a Virtual Story Circle hosted by the VFC’s Trish Denton on April 5, 2020.
To access the full recording please contact the VFC Archivist.