MEN & THEIR STORIES is a collaborative effort - men share their stories and I find the Middle Pages that foster connection. Our real human stories are vitally upheld by those Middle Pages where the plot develops and the characters are re-defined and refined.
Alongside our personal stories, beyond the titles and covers that identify us and the dramas of beginnings and endings, are those Middle Pages that allow us to connect through each others' journeys.
The recent election campaign in America got me thinking: are the main characters in our men's stories merely hero, villain or phoenix? And does our proclamation, when we get those hero and phoenix stories, 'now that's a MAN!' mean all others are not?
I think we are so busy looking for role models, successes or failures, fathers of the year and out-of-the-ashes stories that we often overlook the everyday stories of our men, those Middle Pages that keep men going...the man toiling in his back yard garden so he can manage the mental chatter, the taxi driver who tells his passengers stories so he can combat the traffic and road rage, the partner who forces his friend to the gym to workout that belly he's growing, the artist who only has that one memory to inspire him in a forgetful world...
In a world advocating for woman power I wonder, what good is empowerment if don't see our men here in an everyday existence, facing the same challenges we do, wanting the same things we do - a space to just be, without judgement, expectation, applause or disdain?
We're sharing stories to connect you with men you don't know, stories you don't know about artists you know, and we might even have the privilege of sharing their works in the making with you!
I'm humbled that so many of these men told me: I've never shared that story before.
Thank you for trusting me with your stories.
I hope you join us as we #legendizeU and please feel free to share these stories.
If you would like to chat, please e-mail me.
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©Joanne Haynes.
All Rights Reserved.
MEN & their STORIES
From the film LEGENDS REVISITED:
THE FALLEN PEOPLE OF THE BLACK LAND:
A Story of Survival & Choice.
The Fallen People of the Black Land is inspired by an Amerindian legend of Trinidad's Pitch Lake.
According to this legend, an group of Amerindians celebrated an important victory by killing and eating the sacred Colibri (hummingbird). This angered the Gods, who damned the village and caused it to be covered over by a lake of pitch.
This film is about the Middle Pages of Kayana's life - on the brink of manhood he is sent as punishment to spend the night alone at the pitch lake. With his survival threatened, Kayana is faced with the choice between immediate self-survival or the survival of his clan and his decision tests his understanding of his connection to the collective story.
The Fallen People of the Black Land (text) - Sapotee Soil © Joanne Haynes 2010.
The Fallen People of the black Land (film) - Legends Revisited © Joanne Haynes 2015.
All Rights Reserved.