The Moth

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The Moth Radio Hour
Other names The Moth
Genre Storytelling
Running time 60 minutes
Country  United States
Language(s) English
Syndicates Public Radio Exchange
Host(s) Catherine Burns
Sarah Austin Jenness
Jenifer Hixson
Meg Bowles
George Dawes Green
Editor(s) Paul Ruest, The Argot Studios
Producer(s) Jay Allison
Viki Merrick
Jenna Weiss-Berman
Exec. producer(s) Sarah Haberman
Air dates since 2009
No. of series 6
No. of episodes 61
Opening theme The Drift, ‘Uncanny Valley’
Website The Moth site
Podcast The Moth podcast

The Moth is a non-profit group based in New York City dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling.[1] Founded in 1997, the organization presents storytelling events across the United States and abroad, often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities.[1] The Moth offers a weekly podcast and in 2009 launched a national public radio show, The Moth Radio Hour, which won a 2010 Peabody Award.[2][3] The 2013 story collection The Moth: 50 True Stories reached #22 on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Best-Seller List.[4]

Overview

The Moth was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to recreate the feeling of sultry summer evenings in his native Georgia, when moths were attracted to the light on the porch where he and his friends would gather to spin spellbinding tales.[1][5] George and his original group of storytellers called themselves "The Moths", and George took the name with him to New York.[1] The organization now runs a number of different storytelling programs in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, and other American cities, often featuring prominent literary and cultural personalities.

Live events and programs

The Moth features several different varieties of live shows, all dedicated to the art of first person storytelling.[1][6]

The Moth Mainstage is their curated flagship program, which is a "staple" of the literary scenes in New York City and Los Angeles and regularly tours around the United States and the world as The Moth on the Road.[6][7][8]

The organization also holds The Moth StorySLAM events, open mic storytelling competitions open to everyone in cities across the United States, including New York City, Detroit, Chicago, Louisville, Ann Arbor, Pittsburgh, Cambridge, and Los Angeles.[6][9] The format was inspired by and is similar to poetry slams.

The MothSHOP Community Education Program offers storytelling workshops free of charge to "students and disenfranchised adults in underserved neighborhoods."[6] The MothSHOP Corporate program "trains employees to utilize the power of storytelling to promote their goals and ideas."[6]

In 2012 The Moth launched the High School Slam program, which brings Story SLAMs to public high schools in New York City. They currently hold slams at six high schools in three boroughs.

Broadcasting

The Moth offers a weekly podcast, which provides free audio of stories from all types of Moth events.[6] The podcast has over 70,000 subscribers and averages over 1 million downloads a month.[6] In August 2009, the organization also launched a national public radio show, The Moth Radio Hour, produced by Jay Allison and distributed by Public Radio Exchange.[2][6] In the fall of 2009 The Moth Radio Hour was licensed by more than 200 public radio stations, and it later won a 2010 Peabody Award.[2][3][6]

Publishing

The Moth: 50 True Stories
Editor Catherine Burns
Author Various
Country United States
Language English
Genre Storytelling
Publisher 2013 (Hyperion Books)
Media type Print (Paperback)
Pages 432
ISBN 978-1401311117

On September 3, 2013 Hyperion Books published The Moth: 50 True Stories, a collection of stories from the group's performance history. In December 2013 it reached #22 on The New York Times Paperback Nonfiction Best-Seller List.[4]

Storytellers

As of the end of 2013, over 10,000 stories have been told at The Moth.[10] Storytellers include:

The organization's annual fundraising event is called the Moth Ball. At this event they present the Moth Award, celebrating the art of the raconteur. Past awards have gone to Garrison Keillor,[47] Salman Rushdie,[48] Anna Deavere Smith,[49] Calvin Trillin,[50] Spalding Gray (posthumously),[51] Martin Scorsese,[52] and Albert Maysles.[53]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "About: The Moth". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved January 18, 2014. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "About: The Moth Radio Hour". TheMoth.org. Retrieved January 15, 2014. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Peabody Awards - Past Winners (2010): The Moth Radio Hour (Public Radio Stations)". PeabodyAwards.com. Retrieved January 15, 2014. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "BEST SELLERS (Paperback Nonfiction): December 29, 2013". NYTimes.com. The New York Times. December 29, 2013. Retrieved January 15, 2014. 
  5. ↑ The Moth: The Story Behind the Storytellers (PODIUM: The Art of Oration). @radical.media/THNKR. May 2013. Retrieved January 10, 2014. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.10 6.11 "About: The Moth Programs". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved January 18, 2014. 
  7. ↑ "Don't Look Back: The Moth in Portland". Portland5.com. Portland's 5 Centers for the Arts. Retrieved January 17, 2014. 
  8. ↑ "About: The Moth Mainstage". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved January 17, 2014. 
  9. ↑ The Moth: The Best Storytellers in the World (PODIUM: The Art of Oration). @radical.media/THNKR. April 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2014. 
  10. ↑ "You Talkin' To Me: How Stories Work at The Moth". Transom.org. November 26, 2013. Retrieved January 13, 2014. 
  11. ↑ "Jonathan Ames". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  12. ↑ "Slaying King George at The Moth". MauriceAshley.com. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  13. ↑ "Wesley Autrey: 1000 Voices New York". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  14. ↑ "Elna Baker". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  15. ↑ "Mike Birbiglia". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  16. ↑ "Andy Borowitz". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  17. ↑ Martin, Adam (14 September 2011). "Padma Lakshmi Burps and Other Highlights from The Moth's Food Night". The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  18. ↑ Sotomayor, Eva (7 March 2013). "The Moth continues the tradition of storytelling". The Marquette Tribune. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  19. ↑ Reeves, Jim. "DAN CHOI SPEAKS AT THE MOTH, PORTLAND OREGON, JAN 18,2010". Queerlandia.com. Queerlandia. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  20. ↑ "Kimya Dawson". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  21. ↑ "Rachel Dratch". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  22. ↑ "Ophira Eisenberg". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  23. ↑ "Ed Gavagan". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  24. ↑ Sotomayor, Eva (7 March 2013). "The Moth continues the tradition of storytelling". The Marquette Tribune. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  25. ↑ "Adam Gopnik". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  26. ↑ "Lisa Jackson". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  27. ↑ "Ava Kay Jones". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  28. ↑ "Garrison Keillor". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  29. ↑ Martin, Adam (14 September 2011). "Padma Lakshmi Burps and Other Highlights from The Moth's Food Night". The Atlantic Wire. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  30. ↑ "Janna Levin". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  31. ↑ Gutelle, Sam (6 November 2012). "Storytelling Series 'The Moth' Hosts Expansive YouTube Channel". Tubefilter.com (Tubefilter). Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  32. ↑ "George Lombardi". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  33. ↑ "Michael J. Massimino". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  34. ↑ "Darryl "DMC" McDaniels". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  35. ↑ Sotomayor, Eva (7 March 2013). "The Moth continues the tradition of storytelling". The Marquette Tribune. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  36. ↑ "Edgar Oliver". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  37. ↑ "Steve Osborne". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  38. ↑ "George Plimpton". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  39. ↑ "Sherman "O.T." Powell". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  40. ↑ Tumin, Remy (25 October 2012). "In Unexpected Twist, Love Came Late In Life Yet Right On Time". Vineyard Gazette. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  41. ↑ "Molly Ringwald". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  42. ↑ "Salman Rushdie". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 13 January 2014. 
  43. ↑ "Dan Savage". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  44. ↑ "Al Sharpton". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 10 January 2014. 
  45. ↑ Borden, Jane (19 November 2008). "The Moth Ball: Lili Taylor, Salman Rushdie and John Turturro love stories". Time Out New York. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  46. ↑ "Kimya Dawson". TheMoth.org. The Moth. Retrieved 15 January 2014. 
  47. ↑ Hendrix, Jenny (19 November 2010). "Honoring The Bard of Lard". The New Yorker: Page Turner. Retrieved 17 January 2014. 
  48. ↑ Anderson, Arison (November 25, 2008). "Salman Rushdie and the Legend of the Moth". The Huffington Post. Retrieved February 17, 2009. 
  49. ↑ Anderson, Ariston (19 November 2009). "Storytelling Comes Alive at Moth's Black & White Ball". Luxist.com (Luxist). Retrieved 17 January 2014. 
  50. ↑ "The Moth Award 2010 Presented to Calvin Trillin". January 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2013. 
  51. ↑ Lerner, Sarah (4 November 2011). "The Moth Raises The Roof". ElectricLiterature.com (The Outlet). Retrieved 17 January 2014. 
  52. ↑ Carlson, Jen (29 March 2012). "The Moth Ball Returns This May, Honoring Martin Scorsese". Gothamist.com (Gothamist). Retrieved 17 January 2014. 
  53. ↑ Vilensky, Mike (15 May 2013). "The Craft of a Story: Storytelling Is Celebrated at the Moth Ball". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 17 January 2014. 

Further reading

External links

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