Mountain Wordsmiths to Hear Popular Storyteller Kanute Rarey March 27

Kanute Rarey, a well-known and beloved storyteller, is the March 27 featured reader at Mountain Wordsmiths.  The Wordsmiths meet monthly over Zoom at 10:30 a.m.

Many of you already know Kanute, but if you don’t know him, here’s your opportunity. 

Kanute Rarey

Born and raised on a family farm in Ohio, Kanute's early years were “rich with material” for family stories. He played with cats and dogs on the farm, helped feed the chickens, and rolled down hills in the pasture field behind the barn. Then, his life was shaken by the sudden death of his mother when he was six.

From his first week-long workshop in 2015 with national storyteller, Elizabeth Ellis, at the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, Kanute says, “Elizabeth opened the door to that canary cage and the bird flew out.”

His first step in storytelling and one that he is most proud of is a program he developed in 2016 for folks at area care centers, senior centers and retirement communities. Called “Reminiscing, Storytelling and Capturing Personal History,” it combines discussion and story to remind us of the present and the past and helps us find joy in the moment.

In 2015, he started helping with the annual Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, a growing festival and the first of its kind in the area. In 2018, he started a storytelling group, Mountain Area Storytellers. 

Kanute enjoys sharing with others his lively stories and poetry. They are often about his adventures discovering the world and his unique experiences in life that brought him to the mountains. “I am in awe of the many wonderful writers we have in our community. It is a joy each day to wake to the morning sun as it breaks across our surrounding mountain tops and lights each new day”.

To join over Zoom email Carroll Taylor  at vibiaperpetua@gmail.com for the Zoom meeting link.