All tagged Storyteller

Chiemi Karasawa – Sacred Reciprocity | S5 E07

Chiemi Karasawa – Sacred Reciprocity | S5 E07

Katharine Heller

If you’ve seen Chiemi Karasawa’s award-winning film “Elaine Stritch: Shoot Me,” you already know that Chiemi is a great storyteller. (If you haven’t, put it at the top of your streaming queue!) Chiemi's story is one filled with magic, mettle and a very healthy dose of hilarity. She landed one amazing job after another upon graduating from college: as script supervisor for lauded directors like Spike Jonze, Jim Jarmusch, Stephen Frears and Martin Scorsese, and then as an independent filmmaker and producer at Isotope Films, the company she founded in 2007. We were delighted by Chiemi’s “industry” stories, moved by her narration of her family's experience in and after the WW II Japanese American internment camps, and spellbound by her brief encounter with on-line dating, leading to her first marriage at 50 this past June. Chiemi likens herself to a “pioneer woman” in how she makes her way through life without a roadmap, on her own terms and relying on the cycle of giving with generosity and receiving with deep gratitude that fuels “sacred reciprocity.

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Sandra Guzman - At the Feet of Her Elders | S5 E01

Sandra Guzman - At the Feet of Her Elders | S5 E01

Katharine Heller

“I am 54. I don’t know what that means anymore. In my 20s and 30, when I thought about what 50 would feel like, I thought it was going to be old and cranky. And I’m coming together really nicely in my 50s. It feels wonderful to set boundaries, to know that I prefer banana pancakes.”

On the other side of 50, journalist, author and filmmaker Sandra Guzman still listens to her elders. Most notably, she spent two days listening to Nobel Laureate and literary giant Toni Morrison when she interviewed her for the wonderful documentary, the Pieces I Am. (Imagine the joys of sitting with Morrison for two days asking questions to elicit the story of her life? And then, your heightened sorrow at her passing this August?) Sandra listens to learn, share and, in her words, “amplify the voices and stories of marginalized people and communities.” She was the Editor-in-Chief of Latina, the country’s largest magazine for Latinx women; won an Emmy for her public affairs work at Telemundo, just one of the television stations she worked with over the years; was a reporter at El Diario/La Prensa and the New York Post; and is the author of The Latina’s Bible, a feminist go-to-guide for two generations of Latinx women. Sandra is a powerful and captivating storyteller evolving into an elder in her own right. We hope you enjoy sitting at her metaphoric feet as much as we did! (And to learn much more about Sandra and her work, visit her website at http://www.sandraguzman.com/films/)

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Tracy Hyter-Suffern - Quite a Handful | S4 E08

Tracy Hyter-Suffern - Quite a Handful | S4 E08

Katharine Heller

“I’m either the world’s greatest storyteller or the world’s greatest secret keeper.”

At 60, Tracy Hyter-Suffern, can proudly say, “I am coming into my own. I’m the woman my mother kept trying to raise.” That woman is a glorious storyteller, joyful and wise, a salsa dancer, and a fierce and fearless cultural and social justice activist. She is the Executive Director of the National Jazz Museum of Harlem, the first Director of the Y.W.C.A. International Relations Department, and over the years ran and fundraised for many groups, from Urban Bush Women to Black Agency Executives. Tracy grew up --and still lives-- in “small town” Staten Island, “a Black girl from the projects” who in her 20s unearthed the family secret: her father’s family was not Black but Native American! It’s a great story that ends with Tracy successfully enrolling the family in the Ramapough Lunaape Nation. Listen now as Tracy shares this and other stories, along with her “Nine Reasons We Are Here.”

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Hendrica Okondo - Born, Bred and Wed in Nairobi | S3 E08

Hendrica Okondo - Born, Bred and Wed in Nairobi | S3 E08

Katharine Heller

"I’m still the same person that was my mother's disciple. Women have to have their own resources. That’s what my mother was saying when she said, 'Your husband is your degree'. You need your own resources. I also need to ask for help. I cannot be superwoman."

Hendrica Okondo, 62, credits much of her wisdom and courage to women: her mother and grandmother, Nobel-prize-winner Wangari Maathai, and countless women leaders who she worked with over 40 years supporting women’s and girls’ rights worldwide. Raised in Kenya, she’s lived and worked in more countries than most people will visit in a lifetime (from Sudan to Somalia and the UK to Switzerland), had more careers than most people dream of (from scuba diver to gender advisor) and is a storyteller extraordinaire. She recently returned home after ‘retiring’ from an international career in the United Nations and the World YWCA. She now follows her passion to promote the sexual and reproductive rights of young girls throughout Africa, blending her profound and life-long Catholic faith with an irrepressible spirit. She likes to remind religious leaders that the first person to see the risen Christ was Mary Magdalene, who is portrayed as a sex worker by many writers, so -- if she was the first person to see the risen Christ -- then Christianity was started by a sex worker. Shower yourself with her sage advice and contagious laughter as soon as you can!

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Sondra Lee - As I Was Saying | S2 E08

Sondra Lee - As I Was Saying | S2 E08

Katharine Heller

"I’m someone who’s very lucky. I didn’t come from anything fancy. I’ve always been determined to do whatever it was I should be doing. There’s nothing in the arts that I haven’t attempted. I’m still at it."

At 86, Sondra Lee is simply unstoppable. At 16, she stormed a Broadway theater after auditions were over and landed not only a part but a lifelong friend, Jerome Robbins. Robbins was the one one who cast her as the original Tiger Lily in Peter Pan, an unforgettable performance on the stage and television. Over the years, her career expanded to directing, teaching and coaching, as well as painting and sculpting. Whether she is reflecting on her friendship and affair with Marlon Brando or sharing insights about feminist organizing in New York City in the 1970s, her skill as a storyteller makes each aspect of her fascinating life a lesson in standing up for yourself, following your dreams, and kindness. Sondra’s first memoir, I’ve Slept with Everybody, introduces us to the legions of well-known people she’s known and loved. Her upcoming book – As I Was Saying – will tell her fans even more. Now at the point in life where the obituaries in the morning paper too often include her friends, Sondra continues to face disappointment and loss with her old stand- by: Getting to work!

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