Storyteller’s ‘Christmas Carol’ show draws a crowd

Thursday, December 23, 2010

File photo Children gathered with storyteller Odds Bodkin last year at the Merrimack Library after his performance of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Bodkin comes to Amherst Town Library on Dec. 4

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File photo Joshua McCarthy of Hudson met Odds Bodkin after the master storyteller performed Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" at the Merrimack Library last December. Bodkin brings his performance to the Amherst Town Library on Dec. 4.

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File photo Children gathered with storyteller Odds Bodkin last year at the Merrimack Library after his performance of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." Bodkin comes to Amherst Town Library on Dec. 4

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The dramatically spoken tale of Jacob Marley, the ghosts of Christmases past, present and future, and a miser’s change of heart drew nearly 50 listeners to the Merrimack Library on Thursday, Dec. 16. The crowd gathered to hear award-winning storyteller Odds Bodkin recite an only slightly abridged version of “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.

Bodkin, a resident of Bradford and graduate of Duke University, has since 1982 entertained audiences with his illustrative storytelling. He is a musician, educator and the author of dozens of books, poems and musical works, many downloadable online at oddsbodkin.net.

Bodkin has performed twice at the White House – during the Clinton administration – and twice at the Lincoln Center Institute in New York. He also has traveled abroad to share his storytelling expertise at colleges, museums and literary workshops.

Bodkin, a tall, animated fellow with bushy, reddish eyebrows, was welcomed to the gathering by Yvette Couser, head of children’s services at the library. She said the event was geared for youngsters ages 7 and older. She added that she was thrilled at the large turnout and the many adults in tow.

“We have such a fast-paced society,” Couser said. “Sometimes, it seems we’ve lost the ability to sit quietly and listen. Tonight, we were taken back to a time when we could do that. I’m always a promoter of the oral tradition.”

Joshua McCarthy, 7, a youngster from Hudson, sat in the front row, next to his grandmother, Phyllis McCarthy of Merrimack. Phyllis said the pair recently saw a rendition of “A Christmas Carol” on stage in Nashua. They were excited, she said, when they heard Bodkin’s version was coming to their local library. Joshua added, “I liked the ghosts.”

Merrimack’s Sydney Searles, 10, and her sister, Samantha Searles, 12, sat among other family members watching Bodkin, dressed in a tuxedo, tell the story of Ebenezer Scrooge and Tiny Tim and all the ghosts who helped convince Scrooge he needed to improve his attitude to make life rewarding. Both said Bodkin made it easy to visualize the story as it unfolded.

The girls easily could imagine the fat Christmas goose and the clanking of Jacob Marley’s burden of heavy chains. Sydney noticed the way Bodkin rapped on the podium with his knuckles when the story called for a banging noise. She said, “He makes his own sound effects, too.”

The novella, published in 1843 during industrial England’s somber Victorian era, is credited by historians – and by Bodkin – with reviving in Britain and also in America the gaiety of the Christmas holiday. New customs were embraced at that time. Folks erected Christmas trees, unveiled first by Prince Albert in 1841. They began exchanging a fancy, new form of greeting – Christmas cards. Roasted goose remained an elegant meal.

Bodkin, whose name reflects a Scottish heritage, said the revitalization of the Christmas holiday was most welcome in England by those who needed some happiness. England in those days, he said, was a miserable place for the working class. Poverty, hunger, illiteracy and a life of long hours of toil often were the norm for mostly everyone but the rich.

“Dickens is an author whose works always reflect a struggle,” Bodkin said, noting that Dickens’s father was one of many sent for a spell to a debtor’s prison. “Whether it’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ or ‘Oliver Twist’ or ‘Great Expectations,’ there is always a young boy and the young boy’s struggle to overcome adverse conditions and make life better.”

Many of Bodkin’s other stories reflect similar themes related to overcoming adversity. He enjoys reciting lengthy, complex tales including “The Odyssey” and “Beowulf.” In January, he is releasing a new tale, one with a twist related to numerous communities’ recent anti-bullying efforts. It is a tale about Hercules, “the legendary bully.”

Meanwhile, he encourages other would-be storytellers, creative people of all ages, to pursue their own styles of presentation and practice telling their own stories to friends, classmates and family members – as often as possible. Parents seeking his advice about expanding their children’s skills are offered a simple recommendation. Have the child begin by writing.

“Write it down,” Bodkin said. “Children who want to be good storytellers will gain a lot by writing down the stories they have made up. Visualization and organization are a part of the storytelling process. Writing helps.”

More information about Odds Bodkin, his stories and his schedule of upcoming performances is available online at www.oddsbodkin.net.