The Inner Library

Emma Parfitt — Wed, 05 Sep 2012 09:01:00 +0000

What is an inner library?

‘We carry with us every story we have ever heard and every story we have ever lived, filed away at some deep place in our memory. We carry most of those stories unread, as it were, until we have grown the capacity or the readiness to read them. When that happens they may come back to us filled with unexpected meaning.’

(Rachel Remen, Kitchen Table Wisdom, xli)

Remen’s words touch on the idea of an ‘inner library’ which is expressed in Arthur W. Frank’s book, Letting Stories Breathe a Socio-narratology. They articulate a similar notion, that we may carry the kernel of a story with us for a long time. Until something triggers its memory and in doing so uncovers new meaning. When the right conditions prevent themselves old ideas we have carried with us but never really understood, acknowledged, or accepted, take root. Blossoming into a new series of neural networks that can forever altar the idea of who we are. Story and the human brain have grown together over a long time. In our lifetime we are always transforming in some way. And if we accept and flow with this process of change life has the potential to be all the richer.

Cultural history of the inner library

The idea of an inner library has a long cultural history. Thought the first time I came across an idea like this it was in a contemporary novel. It was in one of Stephen King’s novels, I think Dreamcatcher, please correct me if I’m wrong, where the main character remembered things by keeping them on shelves like a stationary cupboard in his brain. He could hide thoughts there too. Or that is how I recalled the idea in my mind’s eye when Frank mentioned the concept of an ‘inner library.’

Death, Memory, and Material Culture by Elizabeth Hallam and Jenny Hockey discusses the history of the concept of an inner library. Basically, in medieval times the mind was seen as a series of rooms, this became a library. Later as technology influenced the concept further, our minds were visualised as organising information like computers.

I find it fascinating how this concept has changed with surrounding cultural influences and technology. It’s a shame that our brains aren’t much like computers … Well sometimes they are: except the binary code of the brain is narrative.

The inner library and storytelling

I am largely comparing the storyteller’s use of language and the resulting emotions expressed in group discussion. Yet the concept of inner libraries is important in the storylistening process if it has a impact on emotional response. I find that the concept of an inner library is relevant to my research on storytelling. Because it has an influence on the emotions that will be triggered as individuals listen to folktales.

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Review of Letting Stories Breathe a Socio-narratology by Arthur W. Frank.

Emma Parfitt — Wed, 01 Aug 2012 13:27:00 +0000

Socio-narratology: what is it?

‘People’s access to narrative resources depends on their social location: what stories are told where they live and work, which stories do they take seriously or not, and especially what stories they exchange’ (Frank, 3).

I had been looking at socio-psychology as a form of analysis when Jack Zipes suggested a book that he had just reviewed himself. ‘This is a splendid book, and anyone who takes storytelling seriously should find the time to explore’ (Jack Zipes, Living Through Stories, Review by email, April 2012). I had already heard a few people mention Arthur W. Frank’s book The Wounded Storyteller, but this one seemed more relevant for my research.

I didn’t know anything about dialogical narrative analysis prior to reading this book. Like socio-narratology, dialogical analysis includes what a story does, how it connects and disconnects people, and that there are numerous possibilities when it comes to interpretation. Socio-narratology is practiced via dialogical analysis, learning from storytellers how to use stories appropriately and in what setting. There is no set way of doing this. I rather like that it is so fluid: unless I’m completely missing the point. Overall it is very confusing; at the same time it makes perfect sense. Frank’s writing style is representative of the quality of his experience in the field. I like the questions he raises and how he phrases his discussion in a creative way.

Huh?!

The main concept that I understood from Letting Stories Breathe is that this form of analysis encourages working with those you are studying, forming a relationship, opening a dialogue, and learning from this dialogue as a researcher. Dialogical analysis accepts that we cannot know all the inner workings of another person, as people are constantly changing. But we can acknowledge our own weaknesses and predispositions—as a result of our own social conditioning—as a part of the interpretation process.

Frank talks about what stories do, how they work, and provides some possible perspectives, when considering methods of analysis. He considers, in chapter six, that dialogical analysis ‘begins with how stories give people a sense of who they are’ (Frank, 159). From this we can progress into the way in which connections are formed in people’s ‘inner library’ of stories. The way in which this creates bonds between groups and communities; bringing us back to what narratives do and how they do it.

Emotions and stories

Although I am looking at the emotional benefits that fictional stories provide, Letting Stories Breathe is relevant to my work with storytelling because it stresses the importance of ‘story and storyteller working together’ (Frank, 107). Dialogical analysis attempts to unravel how stories affect individuals and become woven into a sense of cultural identity; between friends, acquaintances, businesses, and the community.

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Learn more about Emma’s writing

If you are looking for a book to read about sisterhood and the resilience of friendship check this out:

Perhaps you would also like the Seven Sisters series?

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Archives Letting Stories Breathe - Emma Parfitt Proofreading Editing Services

The Inner Library

Cultural history of the inner library

The inner library and storytelling

Learn more about Emma’s writing

Review of Letting Stories Breathe a Socio-narratology by Arthur W. Frank.

Socio-narratology: what is it?

Huh?!

Emotions and stories

Learn more about Emma’s writing