In these days of AI and robot-everything, storytelling—that natural human trait—may matter more than ever. Students, alumni, and faculty at Pitt-Greensburg will come together on Wednesday, Nov. 20 in McKenna Hall to celebrate this human art form with its Fall 2024 Storytellers Showcase.
The showcase features readings from poets and writers, debuts of short films and digital stories, and excerpts from film scripts. The event begins at 6 p.m. in McKenna 130 and is free and open to everyone.
“Humans have been telling one another stories before we even had language,” says Lori Jakiela, professor of English and director of Pitt-Greensburg’s Creative & Professional Writing Program. “Storytelling builds empathy and connection. It’s a deeply-rooted part of every culture and makes the experience of being human in a difficult world feel less lonely.”
For this fall’s Showcase, student filmmakers from the Digital Storytelling class have created digital stories based on poems and prose from Pitt-Greensburg alumni writers including Caitlin Cruser, McKenzie Bonar, and Emily Lohr, as well as award-winning national authors like Celeste Gainey, Richard Gegick, and the late poet Bart Solarczyk.
“The students in digital storytelling selected work that moved them, work they felt connected with,” Jakiela says. “It’s a beautiful testament to how telling our own stories can help others tell their stories.”
Professor Dave Newman, whose creative writing classes will be participating in the showcase, agrees.
“Stories carve out these pathways where we can come together and understand one another,” Newman says. “It’s exciting to see our students and community come together to celebrate that. I love that the digital stories will come from texts that past students created for their Capstones. I love that the books that we created in our publishing class will be represented, too. It’ll be so great to see how well our past student writers stand up to the national writers we publish.”
In addition to the readings and screenings, Jakiela will offer free Typewriter poems to anyone who needs one. Jakiela says the poems, written on-site, are another way for people to come together through storytelling.
“After I write poems for people, there’s often hugging, sometimes in tears. We laugh together, and I like to think the people who carry their poems away with them carry a bit of me with them, too,” Jakiela says. “It’s a great feeling.”
It can be scary for people to share their stories with one another, something Newman says is worth acknowledging and celebrating.
“For a lot of our students,” Newman says, “this is their first time presenting their work. That takes a lot of courage, especially when the world is telling you to stare at your phone until you can’t stand anything. Once the students see the reactions to their poems and stories, the desire to create more and tell more starts to intensify. I love to watch that growth, how stories build and inspire other stories.”
Need one more reason to celebrate storytelling? Research shows that stories can make you happier. Listening to stories can cause the brain to release oxytocin—the happy chemical linked to feelings of love and empathy.
“And who couldn’t use a bit more of that?” Jakiela says.
For more information about the Storytellers Showcase or the Creative & Professional Writing Program at Pitt-Greensburg, email loj@pitt.edu or call 724-836-7481.