Washington Storyteller to Visit St. Helens Public Library

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 25, 2016

WASHINGTON STORYTELLER TO VISIT ST. HELENS PUBLIC LIBRARY

The St. Helens Public Library will host oral storyteller Rebecca Hom for a writer’s workshop and storytelling performance about Oregon pioneers on Tuesday, September 13.

Hom is a Washington resident who enjoys hearing and gathering life stories, many of which she collects on her extensive travels. A seasoned performance storyteller, Hom has lived in six Western states, traveled through each state west of the Mississippi River and visited six continents. She blends stories from many genres, including Greek mythology, personal stories, folktales and legends, to create a telling that is unique to each of her performances.

Aspiring writers are encouraged to join Hom at the St. Helens Public Library on September 13 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. for a writer’s workshop that will cover finding a story through experience and crafting that tale into a presentation. With her background in oral storytelling, Hom will focus on voice in dialogue, the viewpoint of “the other,” and engaging the reading or listening audience.

At 7:30 p.m. in the Columbia Center Auditorium, Hom will give a presentation called “Once Upon a Time in Oregon.” She will tell the story of two Oregon pioneers, Ing Hay and Lung On, influential residents of Grant County, Oregon, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hay and On’s civic and civil commitments to residents of the area helped calm troubled times in the 1800s. Their legacy may even have influenced events of February 2010 when representatives of a white nationalist group arrived in John Day seeking locations for new national headquarters in Grant County to which residents stood opposed. This performance weaves together Hom’s personal experience in John Day in June 2010 while on a four-state heritage tour with general historical background of the Chinese experience, and an overview of the Kam Wah Chung Mercantile, owned by Hay and On in the 1800s.

The St. Helens Public Library is located at 375 S. 18th Street, St. Helens.

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For further information regarding Hom’s appearance at the St. Helens Public Library, please contact Nicole Woodruff, Library Technician I, at 503-397-4544 or nicolew@ci.st-helens.or.us