Kentucky Folktales
ISBN: 9780813136011
Platform/Publisher: Project MUSE / The University Press of Kentucky
Digital rights: Users: Unlimited; Printing: Chapters; Download: Chapters
Subjects: Storytelling; Tales;

The storytelling tradition has long been an important piece of Kentucky history and culture. Folktales, legends, tall tales, and ghost stories hold a special place in the imaginations of inventive storytellers and captive listeners. In Kentucky Folktales: Revealing Stories, Truths, and Outright Lies Kentucky storyteller Mary Hamilton narrates a range of stories with the voice and creativity only a master storyteller can evoke. Hamilton has perfected the art of entrancing an audience no matter the subject of her tales. Kentucky Folktales includes stories about Daniel Boone's ability to single-handedly kill a bear, a daughter who saves her father's land by outsmarting the king, and a girl who uses gingerbread to exact revenge on her evil stepmother, among many others. Hamilton ends each story with personal notes on important details of her storytelling craft, such as where she first heard the story, how it evolved through frequent re-tellings and reactions from audiences, and where the stories take place. Featuring tales and legends from all over the Bluegrass State, Kentucky Folktales captures the expression of Kentucky's storytelling tradition.


Mary Hamilton , a professional storyteller since 1983, frequently performs at local, regional, and national storytelling festivals as well as conducts storytelling workshops around the country. In 2009 she received the Circle of Excellence Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network.

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