Episode 13. Dawn Nelson: Rewilding through Storytelling
Hello and welcome to episode 13 of Prompted by Nature. How are you? It’s been a little while, hasn’t it! I admit I wasn’t expecting to take a break but I gave myself a moment to take a breath and now it’s over a week since I released an episode - perhaps I needed it! With lockdown beginning to ease, I’ve re-started my outdoor writing and meditation sessions in Brighton and Uckfield in East Sussex. My writing classes for women take place in the beautiful forest at Stanmer Park every Wednesday 10.15am-11.15am and I have a summer day retreat at the always magical Wilderness Woods in Uckfield, not too far from Tunbridge Well. My next one is Thursday 20th August 10am-4pm. All details for all of my events can be found on the events page of my website.
This week we’re in for another treat as I speak to the lovely Dawn Nelson.
Dawn Nelson, also known as DD Storyteller, lives in a village on the beautiful South Downs and has had a passion for stories all her life, from the epic sagas of the old worlds to the anecdotes shared between friends at the dinner table.
As a storyteller she writes and performs both interactive stories and traditional tales, as well as creating story-based events and workshops for all ages. The nature that surrounds her has influenced many of her stories and she loves to incorporate the outside world and ancestral wisdom into her performances for young and old.
She believes that one of the ways we can reconnect with the Earth is through story. Our ancestors left the answers right there, coded into their tales: be kind to each other, do not take your fellow animals for granted, create strong bonds and respect the earth.
She believes that, like nature, stories have a rhythm and once we have relearned the rhythms and patterns present in our ancestor’s tales, we will be able to hear when nature tells us its own stories, through its rhythms and patterns. What’s more, we’ll want to listen.'
In this episode we discuss:
Dawn’s background and how she came to story-telling
The process of losing her mother while becoming a mother and how this opened up a new side of her creativity
The importance of passing on story and how these stories become a part of you
Storytelling as a gateway to a liminal space
The concept of rewilding and what it means to her
The importance of connecting with our past and our ancestors in order to help re-tell stories in a way that we can connect with now
Creating story within landscape and the art of ‘not pushing it’
How she stays creative and nurtures her creative spirit
Her advice for creating stories
What she would like to pass on and her hope for the future
Dawn finished off our conversation with a beautiful telling of the story of ‘The Green Woman of the Hill’ (I recommend closing your eyes to listen - it’s so evocative!) and you’ll also find a little bonus story form Dawn in the writing prompt episode that follows this.
You can find Dawn at www.ddstoryteller.co.uk On her Patreon www.patreon.com/ddstoryteller On Instagram: @dd_storyteller on Facebook: @ddstoryteller and on Twitter: @dawnstoryteller
As always, I’m at www.promptedbynature.co.uk (remember to check the for my events if you’re a local) and over on Instagram and Facebook @prompted.by.nature.
Remember to stick around after when I’ll give you a little insight into the meditation and writing prompt that follows. In the meantime, enjoy the conversation and I’ll speak to you after.
Meditation and Writing Prompt
The prompt for this episode is a little different to what I usually do. Dawn kindly told two stories, and this prompt is based on the second of those stories, Banorie.
My suggestions for this prompt are as follows:
Listen to the story lying down with your eyes closed and allow Dawn’s voice to guide you through the story. Then stay for a while and begin writing whatever comes through inspired by the themes, characters, motifs, conversations
Take notes as she speaks
Write a conversation between different characters, develop a plot line, create you own story or poem based on one or the characters - perhaps a back story of bring them into the modern day
Write a song based on the story…
There are so many ways you could engage with this piece and the only limit is your creativity! ;-)
Enjoy! Helen x
