To all who are Interested in the Oral Tradition of Storytelling:

It is time to acknowledge the differences between the tellers of tales within the Oral Tradition and those who are working within other the traditions of "telling" such as: story acting, story recitation, and story copyrighting. While these traditions are all worthy and viable, they should not be confused with the telling of tales within the realm of the oral tradition as it has developed over the centuries. Within this ancient tradition there has never been nor shall be any sense of copyright. While a teller may have cited a source or influence from time to time the practice was not a necessity. Tellers were engaged to bring not a story but rather an experience. They were asked for example, to make an impression or change a mood rather to convey a document. Tellers also were not expected to bring the stories of others, but were called upon to come up with their own original creation, never telling the story twice the same, always adding this or that.

While we do not challenge the legality of copyright nor do we believe that fighting copyright should be a goal, we do believe that those interested in copyright for their own work should not be confused with those working within the oral tradition. Those willing to become a part of the Oral Traditional Realm should have their own identity and be able to stand apart from those who insist upon copyright or those who simply act out or recite the work of others, or those who create specifically for such purposes. Those attending festivals or tellings should know who they are listening to and those who organize events should know who they are engaging to work.

Those who attend an ORAL TRADITIONAL presentation will know that they can absorb, join, and engage in the tradition without any worry about finding out who to contact for permission for this, that or the other.

We propose a designation be created for the purposes of identification and recognition of all who agree to follow the declaration of belief printed below, and for the identification of their craft, and realm, of storytelling. (One such designation submitted is: A Living Oral Tradition of Storytelling (A.L.O.T.)

The ORAL TRADITIONAL Storytelling "Creed"

I believe in the sanctity of the oral tradition as it has existed from the beginning of time.
I also respect all the many forms into which this tradition has been stored.

I believe that the act of telling is not recitation, nor acting, nor writing nor performing, nor publishing, but that telling is original creation in its own right. Telling as such exists independently of all of these performance and presentation modes. Telling has its own unique existence and being.

I believe that all tales (stories) so told (which are told) enter the tradition and that when I tell a tale (story) I do not recreate nor can I exactly restate a tale (story) in any exact or complete form. Rather, I create an emotion within the listener which can not be accurately defined and (may not) will not resemble or be the tale told nor any tale which has informed or influenced the telling . I can not as a ORAL TRADITIONAL teller honestly or accurately say that I can in fact ever exactly tell a tale as described by copyright. It is also not my intent to do so.

Due to the fact that no telling of any story will be ever exactly the same as another I recognize that it is impossible to copyright my telling of any tale (story) which I tell as a ORAL TRADITIONAL, nor shall I require or expect permission to be obtained from me for the retelling of any tale (story) which I tell as a ORAL TRADITIONAL. I do recognize however that it is quite possible to print or record or store a story exactly and that such can indeed be covered by copyright. When I accept payment for my work it shall not be for the telling of tales (stories) but for the experiences conveyed to the audience. This experience or perception is neither the story I have told nor a conveyance of any other resource which has contributed to the telling. It is a perception unique to the listener which defies accurate quantification.
 

Guidelines for Implementation/ Q&A:

It is hoped that those wishing a traditional teller in the oral tradition shall request a ORAL TRADITIONAL teller. ORAL TRADITIONAL only festivals are encouraged however, festivals need not restrict their venues to ORAL TRADITIONAL tellers.

Advantages- A vital environment contributes to all traditions:

An ORAL TRADITIONAL performance should have the following advantages:
1. Copyright problems, disputes and paperwork, and overhead costs and fees, will be avoided
2. Originality and creativity are developed and encouraged in an open environment.
3. The audience will find it easier to join, partake of and contribute to, the tradition.
4. The living tradition of the public domain will grow and be enriched. Each performance may also contribute to the growth and extension of the codified "Traditional" inventory. Essentially, rather than remaining static, the tradition will find itself extended by each and every performance.

Benefits:
What will be the benefits of maintaining a ORAL TRADITIONAL environment?
Those preserving the tradition will be rewarded by its perpetuation, growth and enrichment- there is simply no greater reward.

Maintaining the Oral Traditional Environment:
Is maintaining a ORAL TRADITIONAL environment difficult?

• No! ORAL TRADITIONAL stages and performances may be maintained and organized by simply writing on the stage or performance schedule: "ORAL TRADITIONAL". An announcement can als be made prior to the telling.

May ORAL TRADITIONAL Tellers Share Stages/venues/environments with practitioers of other traditions?

• Yes! ORAL TRADITIONAL Tellers performing on a stage with those of other traditions should make the distinction known through the use of a sign on stage (preferable) or announcement. The audience should be given sufficient time to adapt to the change of philosophy (that is allow time for them to come in or depart) It is also hoped that the transition from a ORAL TRADITIONAL performance to a non- ORAL TRADITIONAL telling be similarly managed.

The provision of reference copies of this document or the inclusion of a summary of its content in a programs will also help to convey the philosophy to others.

Our Purpose in this Document:
The basic underlying philosophy of the above message is our prime concern in the composition and dissemination of this document. We will appreciate and we will encourage any ideas or suggestions which will help to develop, implement and promote this philosophy in harmony with existent philosophies, dimensions of storytelling practice and tradition.
We hold however that it is important to recognize that the tradition already is present within the world of storytelling at the present time- its existence is not open to debate. We invite your assistance in the description, naming and codification of the philosophy we have attempted to describe in this document.

Conclusion:
In conclusion it is important to restate the fact that we are not interested in dominating or displacing any other dimension of the world of storytelling. It is in fact essential that all philosophies and functions of storytelling be nurtured as equals. We have simply defined one such philosophy and for it we ask further illumination, definition, preservation and nurturing.
We invite your assistance with our journey of discovery.

Conrad Bladey/ Papa Joe/Anyone Else?

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Implementation- What can you do now?

What should you do?
Let us know how this document might be improved to best serve the "oral traditional dimension of storytelling.
Try out the concept in practice. Set up ORAL TRADITIONAL environments and venues. Let us know how they work out.
Facilitate the discussion and codification of the philosophy with events, gatherings and publications.

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Archive-Resources for discussion and development-

We offer to serve as a central repository for the collection and dissemination of materials and ideas. We will gladly collate your input and findings. We will to the best of our abilities make all information received publicly accessible. We invite you to freely use and submit materials for free and open public use. This is a publicly accessible web page from which all information is freely downloadable. We look forward to your creative use of this material and to your contributions to this archive.
(the archive will be established in the very near future- watch this space!)

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Other Internet Resources:
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Note: This document should be understood to be a primary update to any materials described using the term TOTSNIIC. While it is a continuation of the development of the concept of TOTSNIIC by the same author all earlier publications are now obsolete. Those operating mirror page are encouraged to update their web site and permission to do so is hereby extended.

PLEASE NOTE: Because of the volunteer nature of the Pursuit of the Realm of the Oral Tradition pages, it is difficult to ensure proper attribution and copyright information for every item included. Please assume that any item which lists a source is copyrighted ). You MUST acquire proper license before using these items for ANY commercial purpose beyond these pages unless the section of the pages or individual source has indicated otherwise.. If you have any additional information or corrections to the credit or copyright information included, please e-mail those additions or corrections to us (along with the item title as given with page address ) so that we can update the pages as soon as possible. Be advised that by downloading any of these pages , you agree to the copyright terms of the original artists/authors/sources whether noted within the pages or not. Thank You.