Storytelling​

William Pruitt has been telling stories in bookstores, schools, libraries, recreation centers, art galleries, museums, community centers, national parks, state parks, radio stations, historical societies and many other places for 40 years. Storytelling was an integral part of his work as a teacher of English as a second language to non-native speakers from every age including pre-school, elementary, junior and senior high, college and adult.  William also taught history and is state-certified.

​He has three kinds of program:

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Stories for Children

Programs for younger children feature from many culture augmented by music, poetry and song, including such as original stories  as "The Boy with the Birds Nest Hair."

Stories for Adults

Programs for older children and adults present both adventure and cautionary tales with metaphoric overtones from Ireland, Russia and Japan, as well as Haudenosaunee and and Native American people.

History Programs

TWO KINDS OF FEAR is a story about Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, starting with each one in youth, moving to Rochester as their lives overlap in the tumultuous events leading up to and beyond the Civil War. Two Kinds of Fear is not a talk but a telling, in which time will be allotted for discussion afterward. It is a true story, entirely documented from the writings of the principles or published archives. It is a glimpse into the lives of two remarkable human beings as well as the turbulent, dark and hopeful times in which they lived. William has performed at the Greece Historical Society, the Perkins Mansion, Rundel and Brighton Libraries, Writers and Books, as well as a number of schools.

MARY JEMISON tells the true story of the daughter of Irish immigrants who was abducted from her family as an adolescent, and eventually married into the Seneca people of the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois. Her story is intricately involved with the French and Indian War, as well as the American revolution.

ABDUCTION OF JEMIMIAH BOONE AND THE CALLAWAY GIRLS tells the amazing true story of  the abduction of Daniel Boone’s daughter and two friends in Boonville Kentucky by Shawnee warriors, and Boone’s rescue of the three against all odds.

Length
Storytelling programs last 45-60 minutes. History programs last 90 minutes, which includes setting the historical context and discussion afterward.

Charge
Up to 3 programs per day, $300 per program for storytelling, $450 for history programs.

Contact William