ninehillsRAMBLE in the JUNGLE
Telling our story
By Wanaku Verdzekov · · The Cameroons
Tags: storytelling, narrative
Dear Ayah Paul Abine,
Thanks for telling it as it is.
The thing that is very hard to do is… to tell a story so well that everyone is willing to listen. If you ask me, this is the crux of the problem with our problems.
All the ingredients of a "good" story are present. It is as if all the members and instruments of a symphony orchestra are present, and only the conductor is absent. It is as if all the actors, props and scenes for the story are there, and only the storyteller is running late to the town hall where everyone is waiting.
If you ask me, the light that shines and shows the way out of darkness is seen by those who have eyes and can actually see. Obviously, some will be slow to see. And that is OK, because it makes those who see try to see even further.
The world keeps moving forward as it is.
The ancestors are watching.
— Wanaku Verdzekov
Reading & grammar
Reading level: Gr 8–10
Understand
- What does the author call "the crux of the problem with our problems"?
- Explain the orchestra comparison.
- What does the author say about people who are "slow to see"?
Grammar focus: similes with as if. "It is as if all the members… are present, and only the conductor is absent." As if introduces an imagined comparison.
Try it: Write two as if sentences about a team or group that lacks a leader.
Discuss: Who tells your community's story today? Who should?