Where Are you Going, Where Have you Been?

Over the past couple of years, Hollywood and NBC have offered several variations of the works of the Brothers Grimm, in some cases slightly skewing the reasoning behind their work. Don’t get me wrong, I love that these stories continue to be told; and, as I have stated before, a true story is always open to be reinterpreted and altered. If I were to point fingers at someone for changing the Grimm brothers’ work to appease a contemporary audience I would begin with Disney, but I love those films so I will simply hold back. Rather, it is more the shows that depict the Brothers Grimm as Van Helsing type figures in a fanciful universe that I feel do the most to really tarnish the legacy and work of Wilhem and Jacob, so I think it is important to quickly clarify what it was they were up to when they wrote their books of fairy tales. Some of this may be review for you, but bear with me.

First, the stories written by the Grimm Brothers were not of their own creation, rather they were traditional tales that were fairly well known across Europe and what is now modern day Germany. Second, the initial purpose of collecting these stories was actually a study of linguistics, and a way to document the variance of regional dialect within the German language. By using commonly told tales as a control, the distinctions and differences in how the stories were relayed would hold the answers to their linguistic study. Lastly, and what I find most noteworthy, the tales were published because the Grimm brothers sensed an end to the spoken form of retaining a story, as print media was becoming more and more common. Hence, they used the printed form as a means to ensure the stories would not be lost as traditional storytelling began to fall out.

How does this relate to my study in the Harz? When I first began this project I intended to encounter and record the old stories first hand through a traditional spoken source. This has proven very difficult because, as the Grimm brothers predicted, the Harz inhabitants rely entirely on the written form to hold the old stories. Generally, when I have asked to have a story told—particularly one that relates to a specific town or location—I am referred to a book. When I insist on a spoken example, the tale is generally summarized in a 10-15-sentence form. It is not that these stories are forgotten or unknown, rather the art of storytelling has given way to more contemporary means of transfer. This makes one wonder what really is starting to vanish, the subject or the medium. Clearly the stories are safe, and I can access them at any time from print, but has this means of archiving cost us the spoken form of these stories? Are we too reliant on the security of the solid and tangible medium that we are losing an art form as a result?

I have studied storytelling enough to answer this question with a confident “no,” but the spoken form of stories is like the vinyl record to music—or the 8mm film to the home movie. It exists, but it kept alive by only in a small sect of people. In the 1970’s, we experienced the great storytelling revival in the United States, and today thousands of people practice the art—to the extent that across the nation annual festivals are held, bringing these people together to further practice and share the craft.  

(here is an old news report of mine exploring the storytelling community)

I don’t find this to be as pervasive here in Germany, which is likely why it has been so difficult to find anyone who can truly tell me these old stories in a traditional form. Perhaps Germany and Europe will experience their own storytelling revival. It might only be a matter of time before people with interest in the craft find one another and make it happen. Until then, my study will push more towards documenting the human experience of the people living in this region with such rich folk heritage, and try to find parallels between their lives and the tales that define their homelands.

Tourism plays a large roll here. The more popular stories that relate to heavily visited regions, like The Devil's Wall

the Rosstrappe

or the Brocken.

are stories that are readily recited—though they all seem to follow a similar script when the chronicler seeks too retell what they read or were told, rather than fully engaging in the story. Yes, these stories are much more readily told, but only as a result of the tourism that has made the locations so popular. What about the regions that are not as well visited, or the regions in the west that have developed a different sort of tourism not based in regional traditions? These are the sorts of questions I am working on answering as I continue my work within these communities.

Shifting Gears

February will mark a big transition in the flow of the Harz project. As the month progresses, I will be drawing a close to the first phase of the project, which has been establishing my presence in the region and making the necessary connections within the various towns of interest. Up to this point, the majority of my work has been research and inquiry based--learning what is, in fact, important to the region and relevant to the study.

The second phase, which will begin at the end of the month and run through the end of May, will be the collection of first hand accounts through conducting recorded interviews. After spending the last three months traveling the mountains and interacting with the inhabitants, I have decided to alter the way I had initially intended to perform these interviews. For those of you who have been on board since the start, you may recall the initial plan was to video record all interviews. In this way, the audio portion could be catalogued for the Oral History, and the video would be available for the final film portion of the project. I have since decided to separate the film and written portions of this project. All interviews for the book will be recorded on traditional audio recording equipment, where the interviews for the film will be conducted separately at a different time. This decision was made on two factors: first being that the demographic of my interview subjects is largely elderly folks who are not comfortable with video cameras, and second being that the book and the film now tackle different subjects. The book is an all around examination of folklore, history, and personal experience of Harz residents, where the film takes on a more focused look at the role of Heimat in the Harz.

For a vast portion of the book centered Oral Histories, I have decided to break some of the typical rules of Oral History Methodology. Ideally, the collection of each history consists of three parts. A pre interview, lasting between one and two hours, is conducted in order to help the interviewer prepare for the actual interview. The second part is the actual interview, lasting between 1.5 and 3 hours. The third part is a followup meeting in which the chronicler reads the interview transcript and provides feedback.

Because I now intend on conducting about 30 interviews for the book, this process is overwhelming for an individual to fully carry out. For many of the chroniclers I plan to interview, I have already conducted a pre interview during the first phase of my project. This was done very informally over coffee and cookies, or a beer at the local inn. However, what I have discovered during the last three months is that there are many folks I meet on the road who are fascinated with my project, and through small talk I realize they have something very important to contribute. Unfortunately, the moment slips by when one of us departs the train or has to get back to work. To make use of these interactions, I have decided to implement a Mini-Interview alternative. By keeping a pocket sized recording device and microphone with me, I will--after determining if the chronicler is relevant--ask if they would like to give a quick, topical interview lasting about 15 minutes. The interview can then be conducted on the spot. This is very atypical of Oral History, and goes against much of the methodology that is considered to be "traditional;" however, it will allow me to make the most of each interaction I encounter.

The video interviews will be transcribed and archived as Oral Histories as well, though they will not likely be featured along with the excepts collected for the book. Fewer subjects will be involved in the film, with an anticipated seven currently on the list. The majority of filming will be conducted in the month of May when Spring has sprung in the Harz, and will feature each individual experiencing the Harz in their daily lives. Parallels will be drawn between each individual's sense of Heimat in each region, largely focusing on East-West/Old-Young--themes that seem to dominate every conversation I have had with regards to present day Harz.

Presently I am on my way to Berlin for a week of work covering the Berlinale Film Festival. While I will be focused on that work during the next few days, this will also be a good opportunity to make some connections for when my project is concluded and both the book and film are ready for an audience.