FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE AMERICAN STORYBAG

A Collection of Tales

Gerald Hausman

Every now and then a collection of stories comes along that not only preserves history, but also delights the imagination. Gerald Hausman, one of America 's best folklorists and listeners, spends his days collecting the perishable oral histories of the old South and the traditional tales of our rich Native American cultures, and inspiring students as he brings these remarkable tales to life by retelling them during visits to middle and high schools across the country.

The Tales

The stories in THE AMERICAN STORYBAG are a fleeting yet incisive look at American life, primarily on the road, but sometimes on or in the water, and have been collected by Gerald Hausman since 1965. Some of the tales are very brief and may be called *sudden stories.* Many of them deal with human survival: an autistic boy lost in a trackless swamp; a young woman who falls in love with a supernatural creature; a young man who finds himself by finding his horse. Some of the tales are mere messages left on a cell phone. Others, like the story of Bimini Blue tell about a Navajo healing ceremony given to a famous author who committed suicide. There are stories of ghosts, demons, fearsome predators, and wise old men who take the innocent in hand and lead them on the road to wisdom. These are tales of innocence and anguish, fantasy and fable, humor and heart. In them we hear the voices of a lost America ---- an America of folk heroes fading fast from view and crying out to be heard.

The Reviews

*Not since Mark Twain has a writer presented classic American storytelling so honestly. Hausman is at his best with this collection, truly entertaining.*

Hilary Hemingway, author of Hemingway in Cuba, on The American Storybag

* . . . it [Tunkashila] is like the wind one hears on the plains, steady, running, full of music.*

N. Scott Momaday, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of House Made of Dawn

* . . . an eloquent tribute to the first great storytellers of America. *

The New York Times Book Review on [Tunkashila]

The Author

Gerald Hausman, author of over 70 books, has traveled widely in America as a professional storyteller and public speaker. His work in Native American studies has been aired on radio coast-to-coast and cited in The New York Times and many other national and international publications. Mr. Hausman has received 35 awards and honors from the American Folklore Society; Bank Street College; New York Public Library; National Council of Social Studies; Parents Choice; Children's Book Council; Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for his books, some of which have been adapted for film, many of which have been used in classrooms around the world. His collection of Native American origin stories, How Chipmunk Got Tiny Feet has reached over one million readers and his numerous books about Bob Marley, co-authored by Cedella Marley, have been reprinted each year since the 1990s. Mr. Hausman has been called *a native of the world* by teachers and educators in all walks of life.

For those who have not experienced a Gerald Hausman-told story, we draw upon an oft-used phrase from the 1800's and *prime the pump* of your interest with just the names of some of his tales:

A Real Life Goliath . . . The Horse of the Navajo . . . Lady Bug Blues . . . Big Fat Harry Toe . . . A Tree Frog Named Houdini . . . Just Like Geronimo . . . The Ancient Itch . . . Man Taken Aboard UFO . . . Pirate Breath . . . Snail . . . Rattlesnake Pete, Goiter Healer . . . Of Lions and Men.

THE AMERICAN STORYBAG was published by Stay Thirsty Press, an imprint of Stay Thirsty Publishing, in October 2010 as an original Amazon Kindle Book and can be read on any Kindle, Windows PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android device and more. For further information, please email pr@staythirstymedia.com or gahausman@earthlink.net .