Going Home- An Evening of Storytelling Based on Experiences in Israel and Palestine.

Quartierzentrum Aussersihl, Bäckeranlage
Hohlstrasse 67, 8004 Zürich

November 11, 2007
6pm (doors at 5pm)



“I was born when all I once feared – I could love.”
– Rabia (Muslim mystic)

On November 11, 2007, storyteller Naomi Steinberg will be presenting Going Home, a selection of stories collected in Israel and Palestine. Personal stories and ancient fairytales are woven together to create a picture of the Middle East not often shown by the media.

In January 2007, she decided to go to Israel and Palestine in order to see for herself what is happening in this land that has been fought over for centuries. She went with ears and heart open, collecting folktales, personal stories, historical and religious stories – looking to find threads which could be woven into a less cyclically destructive story than the one told in the news. Feeling that dwelling on the burden of life is not as useful as celebrating the strength and grace with which we can live our lives, she met with people in both Israel and Palestine who choose everyday to break the cycles of ignorance and violence right in the home of their own heart.

During the evening, she highlights the stories of some of the people she met, weaving together personal anecdotes and folktales. These stories provide the context/frame for the telling of The Wonderful Healing Leaves - a traditional Jewish fairytale collected in Iraqi-Kurdistan.

The evening will also include some innovative and challenging jazz stylings with Matthias Spillman. Matthias has a thriving solo career as a teacher and musician as well as contributing to numerous ensembles and projects, including being the leader of one of Switzerland’s most successful and original jazz groups, MATS-UP. Matthias has performed in numerous venues in Europe and America, among others the International Jazz Festivals of Lugano, Willisau, Bern, Montreux, Frauenfeld, Cully, Grahamstown (South Africa) as well as the 24th and 25th Annual IAJE Conferences in New York and Chicago. (www(dot)matsup(dot)ch)

Naomi Steinberg:
Naomi has been telling stories professionally since 2001. She is a member of the Vancouver Society of Storytelling, the Storytellers of Canada and the Healing Stories Alliance. She believes strongly in the power of stories to catalyze change both personally and globally. She has practiced her craft in such places as the11th Annual International Storytelling Festival in Vancouver, the ‘Science Meets Dharma’ project in Southern India, the ‘In the House Festival’ in Vancouver, and various events in Zurich, Switzerland. She has developed workshops for Vancouver schools through the Vancouver School Board’s Artist in Residence programme as well as facilitating workshops for schools in Morocco, Switzerland and for the Cortona conference in Italy. (www(dot)naomi-eliana(dot)ca)