Contemporary Oral Epic

Description:

Constance DeJong performed an oral adaptation of her published text Twice Told Tale (1983). The performance was part of an ongoing practice of delivering epic-length works from memory. Freed from the written page, DeJong projected her narratives as author/actor/performer directly to the audience, underlining the immediacy of her language. She drew the listener into the complexities of her stories with the direct force of an oral tradition.