CD and Publications
San Antonio Artist Marilyn DeKing’s compelling watercolor image of “Pretty Maid Ibronka” serves as the cover design for Ghostly Gals and Spirited Women
“Ghostly Gals and Spirited Women” is beyond great. Her rendition of "La Llorona" takes you back to the time of the caballeros and landed gentry in South Texas. “Pretty Maid Ibronka” can raise the hair on the back of your neck when you hear the oopir repeatedly ask the young Ibronka what she saw through the keyhole. --David Thompson, Storyteller |
Ghostly Gals & Spirited WomenTales old and new of women who transgress, transform, or transfix – and transcend!$12.95 -- Easy to order from:Amazon.com or JazzArtsStore.comStories:La Llorona: If you ask a hundred people in south Texas to tell you about La Llorona, you’ll hear a hundred different stories, all of them true. The Lute Player: In this Slavic tale of enchantment, the king’s midlife crisis leads the queen to spirited action and a most loving response. Pretty Maid Ibronka: “If only I had a sweetheart, even if the devil he were!” Ibronka’s wistful sigh summons a devil indeed, an oopir, into this haunting Hungarian fairy tale. Miss Annie: East Texas clairvoyant Annie Buchanan West used her spiritual powers to help others in many ways, including locating oil for Howard Hughes. Chien Nang: Did Chien Nang abandon her father? Or deny her beloved? Or neither? This Chinese tale of an irrepressible spirit has healing powers. The Condiment Basketball Game: Have I ever experienced that transformative spirit myself? Just once, and I’m here to tell you about it! |
“I had a most delightful ride home from work last night listening to Mary Grace's many voices in her beautiful, sometimes funny, always engaging stories from the CD, GHOSTLY GALS & SPIRITED WOMEN. The playful, inviting use of music, voice, echo, and more, kept me wondering what would happen next.”--Vanessa Potter, Storytelling in Texas, Inc. |
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Recent articles, stories or interviews:
“Barking Mouse Meets Nicklebee,” article on storytelling and state standards, Storytelling Magazine, September-October 2009. Article available as PDF.
“Pretty Maid Ibronka,” story and Telling Tips in The August House Book of Scary Stories, August House 2009.
“Sinukuan, the Judge,” “The Fly” and “The Flea” published in Bees, Beetles, Butterflies and other Beguiling Bugs: Folklore, Songs and Stories from Around the World, (pp. 71, 82, and 154 respectively.) collected by Jackie Baldwin. Sonoma, CA, Story Lovers World, 2008.
“Let the Stories Come,” chapter in Tell the World: Storytelling Across Language Barriers by Margaret Read MacDonald, p. 146-147. Westport, CN, Libraries Unlimited, 2008.
“How to Tell a Good Story,” Sombrilla Magazine, Spring, 2008. (Staff article based on interview.) Article available as PDF.
Cover Story for Storytelling Magazine, March-April, 2007 is my version of “Sinukuan.” Article available as PDF.
Interviewed by Lori Silverman for Wake Me When the Data Is Over: How Organizations Use Stories to Drive Results regarding the radio program “LIFETIMES: The Texas Experience,” 2006.
“Scheherazade Was Right!” article on Arab Storytelling and Banks Multicultural Typology, July-August 2005 issue of Storytelling Magazine. Article available as PDF.
“La Llorona,” in Bare Bones for Storytellers, Volume 4, Halloween, Story-Lovers World, Sonoma CA, 2004.
Ganzy Remembers (Atheneum, 1991), Mary Grace’s children’s picture book about family stories, is now available as a used book at Amazon. Ganzy Remembers is a Banks Street College selection, Best Children’s Books of 1991.
The two award-winning audiotapes Mary Grace produced for UTSA’s Institute of Texan Cultures, Many Tricksters, and “Yikes! Scary Stories from the Texas Folklife Festival” are out of production.