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Join SOAR For a Brand New Storytelling SIG
For 40 years Joe Canfield worked as an attorney for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), and he was an adjunct professor at Wayne State University (WSU) Law School for almost 20 years. Beginning April 30 at a new SOAR LLI Shared Interest Group (SIG), Canfield will be facilitating a group of storytellers.
“I tell stories and I write stories,” said SOAR member Canfield. “I tell some about things I know which have caught my interest and different things I like. For example, how I lied my way into college, which is a true story, and something I made up about how I became sexy and interesting.”
Some of Canfield’s storytelling experience has been as a member of a storytelling group in Grand Rapids. His experience as a facilitator comes from moderating discussions at The Bernard Gottfried Memorial Labor Law Symposium, taking place yearly at the WSU Law School.
“I don’t know enough about the science of storytelling, but I’ve learned from other people their different techniques,” explained Canfield. “Basically, the idea is to get people together that like to tell stories and tell them. I will lead it with a story myself, and then ask if anyone has a story. And you don’t have to tell a story, just listen.
“There are certain rules, guidelines about language, obscenities, and time restrictions. Also, what happens after you tell a story – their critiques. I belonged to one storytelling group that I quit because the woman didn’t want anything negative. I want the negative things. If you don’t like something, let me know.”
The new Storytelling SIG will meet for the first time on April 30 at 3:30 p.m. in person at The Hawk – Farmington Hills Community Center. Dates for future meetings will be discussed at the meeting. If you plan to attend the meeting, email Sharon O’Brien at aa9938@wayne.edu or Canfield at joecanfield13@gmail.com
Currently living in Dearborn, Canfield is a longtime Michigan resident. In 1968, he began as a field examiner for NLRB Region 7, which serves eastern Michigan. In 1981, Canfield graduated from the Detroit College of Law (now Michigan State University College of Law) and became an NLRB field attorney, and then went on to become a senior trial attorney.
Canfield is originally from the Borough of McAdoo, Pennsylvania, and he received his degree in business administration from King’s College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. One of the stories he tells takes place on a mountain in Pennsylvania. The story begins when a friend asks him what it is that makes him so interesting, to which he replies: “It’s a curse” and then launches into the rest of a fictitious and fanciful tale:
“I was in Pennsylvania where I was walking on a mountain I had been to before. I followed a stream to a pond and then I heard some humming. I looked up and saw a beautiful woman and I said: ‘How could I have missed that?’ I asked her: ‘How are you doing?’ and she said, ‘I’m doing well’ and then said: ‘Sit closer.’ We started talking, we talked about everything. And then she said: ‘Kiss me.’ I said no, she said why, and I said: ‘I don’t love you.’”
This is not the end of the story, but if you are at the Storytelling SIG on April 30, then you might ask to hear the ending, in addition to having the chance to tell your own story.
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