Seraj Library & Storytelling Center

In collecting our stories, we know ourselves and one another more deeply.

As we collect stories from other members of our communities, we learn of the stories that have shaped the lives of our neighbors, friends, and loved ones. Whether we gather personal stories or folk tales, the process of collecting stories allows us to spend time with one another in conversation about the memories that make us who we are as individuals and communities. Academy student Ola noticed that her visits to her older neighbors in Kufor ‘Aqab brought them happiness: “They wear their best clothes, and get themselves ready, and they sit waiting, waiting… So I felt that the visit itself, that we came to speak with them and listen to their stories, this by itself made them happy,” (June 5th 2023). Through sharing our memories and offering the space and care to listen, we build new relationships and strengthen existing ones, affirming that peoples’ stories – including our own – are valuable, worth telling, and worth listening to. 

In curating our stories, we heal, root, and design.

Storytelling is a tool for healing from trauma by meditating on our memories, both good and bad. As storytellers curate the stories from our own lives into the versions we will tell, we process the joys and pains of our lives. In the words of Storytelling Academy student Basma, “When I tell, I heal” (June 6th 2023). By analyzing the stories we collect from ourselves and our communities, storytellers develop meaningful knowledge of Palestinian folkloric stories and personal narratives that strengthens the roots that tie Palestinian communities to each other, their history, and their heritage. At the same time, as storytellers engage deeply with the themes present in the stories they curate, we meditate on our beliefs and the values we want to build our futures on. What does it mean to be a Palestinian woman in 2023? What are the ideals that will help to build a strong Palestinian society in the future? We explore the answers to these questions through storytelling.

In performing our stories, we share, build, and connect.

When storytellers tell, we express our inner world, sharing ourselves with the people around us and opening the door for deeper connection. We place our personal memories into collective repertoires, strengthening the foundation for communal ties by sharing experiences we might hold in common. When we perform the folk tales we collect from our communities, we ensure that they are not forgotten as time passes, maintaining the heritage of Palestinian tales for new generations. In telling, storytellers can advocate for the values they meditate on through the curation process, sharing their message and building networks of solidarity to support one another in that advocacy. As academy student Maha noted, the events at the Center provide an important “opportunity for us to listen to the stories of the people, and for people to listen to our stories” (June 5th 2023). Through these events, the Storytelling Center has built a beautiful community of storytellers, professional and natural, who lend one another strength, confidence, and support in the art of storytelling and in their daily lives.