Lecture on Nova Scotia Gaelic Storytelling at Highland Village, Iona

An internationally renowned expert on Gaelic Cape Breton will give a talk on Nova Scotia Gaelic storytellers Wednesday, Aug. 8, at Highland Village Museum in Iona, Victoria Co.

John Shaw will discuss the importance of Cape Breton's Gaelic storytellers and their repertoires in relation to the oral traditions of peoples speaking Celtic languages. He will examine the historical background of Gaelic storytelling in Cape Breton from the time of Highland settlement and how stories are passed on. Storytellers recorded in the island's communities will be discussed along with brief histories of selected tales and Cape Breton's valuable contribution to wider folktale research. Examples of the Cape Breton storytelling tradition will round out the presentation.

Mr. Shaw lives in Edinburgh, Scotland where he is a senior lecturer in Scottish ethnography with the school of Scottish studies, University of Edinburgh. A former Glendale, Inverness Co. resident, he is known internationally for his academic work on Gaelic Cape Breton. He has produced three collections of Gaelic stories including the recently published Na Beanntaichean Gorma/The Blue Mountains, a collection of Cape Breton Gaelic tales.

Our Nova Scotia Gaelic Storytellers and Their Stories is part of the Seòmbar na Gréineadh/Summer Room Lecture Series. It will begin at 7 p.m. in the Highland Village Tuning Room. Admission is free and all are welcome.

For more information, call 902-725-2272 or e-mail [email protected] .