Author: Mahabharata Project

Award -winning Author, Sacred Storyteller, Workshop Leader; Recipient of 2005 WV Artist Fellowship Award, 2014 Next Generation Indie Book Award, and 2016 Storytelling World Resource Award

Building Bridges for Krishna – An Interview

“Religions build temples and churches, but we personally have to build bridges.” AF

Sankirtana Das (Andy Fraenkel),  a disciple of Srila Prabhupada and contributor to ISKCON News, has recently received a Storytelling World Resource Award for his CD Sacred Voices. An ISKCON News (IN) interview with Sankirtana Das (Skd) learns more about the honor and his thoughts on art, theater, sacred storytelling, interfaith dialogue, and more.

IN: Your storytelling CD, Sacred Voices, recently received an award from Storytelling World. What is Storytelling World?

Skd:  Storytelling World was created and run by Dr. Flora  Joy, a professor of Storytelling at East Tennessee State University.  She produced a magazine called Storytelling World and also offered annual awards for 25 years to storytellers for their exceptional audio CDs and books. The magazine ceased publication a few years back, and now that she retired, this was the last year for the awards.

IN: And you received an award for Sacred Voices.  Congratulations.  Can you tell us about the idea behind Sacred Voices?

Skd: The idea came to me over 30 years ago. I heard about the National Storytelling Network and that many folks who were storytellers actually made a living at their craft. I decided to develop a repertoire to take around to schools, colleges, libraries, and various special events. One of the programs I developed was a collection of stories, poems, and meditations from a variety of sacred traditions. It would be a pilgrimage into the world’s sacred teachings through storytelling. I wanted to show how, even though they all have their own flavor, the essence and goal of the spiritual teachings are the same. It’s like going into an ice cream shop. That’s how Sacred Voices came about.

the complete interview at https://iskconnews.org/building-bridges-for-krishna-an-interview-with-sankirtana-das/

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