Once Upon a Time: Performing Storytelling in Damascus

Storytelling in Syria is more than a form of a popular art, it is a continued living tradition that is integrated in family gatherings and social gatherings; the article weaves the personal experience of the author with the public art of storytelling. While blending private exposure to storytelling with storytelling as a public art form, this paper explores storytelling’s context in Syria, its history, craft, and practice in the comm unity of Damascus. This article is based on an interview with a storyteller from Damascus, Syria. His name is Abu Shadi. While historicizing storytelling in Syria, the paper pays attention to the rituals of storytelling in present as it describes Abu Shadi while he is involved in the act of storytelling. It also describes the venue where stories are usually told, coffee shops, and traces the specificity of this space and its effects on the art of storytelling. The study sheds light on storytelling craft and history in Syria and argues that storytelling needs more attention from community organizations, governmental agencies, academic scholarship, and citizens.