The Firebird: Freedom, Fierce Beauty and Fidelity with the Living World
An online mythtelling event featuring the work of mythsinger Daniel Deardorff benefitting aid to Ukrainian refugees
Sunday, June 12, 2022 - 11am-1:30pm PST - Online (Zoom)
THE EVENT
On Sunday, June 12, 2022, the Mythsinger Legacy Project cordially invites you to The Firebird: Freedom, Fierce Beauty and Fidelity to the Living World. This online community gathering will feature a telling of the ancient tale by mythsinger Daniel Deardorff (1952-2019, joining us via archival audio recording). The story will be followed by “feeding the story” and conversation about the relevance of myth to our current times. Judith-Kate Friedman, Steward of the Mythsinger Legacy Project and Deardorff’s life-partner, will host the event with mythtellers from several lands facilitating the “feeding of the story” space.
This international event will take place online via Zoom, Sunday, June 12, 2022 from 11am-1:30pm PST (other timezones listed below). Tickets are available on Eventbrite. Advanced registration is encouraged as “seating” is limited. The event will be closed captioned. Visual descriptions will be provided. All ages are welcome. Suggested donations of $12-$120 will be gratefully accepted; amounts over $10/ea. will benefit organizations directly aiding Ukrainian refugees. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.
ABOUT THE TELLER
Daniel Deardorff (1952-2019) was a master storyteller, author, singer, beloved teacher, and carrier of ancient oral tradition stories.The Mythsinger Legacy Project is keeping his work alive with a series of interactive mythtelling and music events and the forthcoming publication of the 3rd edition of his book, The Other Within: The Genius of Deformity in Myth, Culture and Psyche (Inner Traditions, October 2022).
A lifelong performing musician whose five-decade career included songwriting, national touring, and producing, Deardorff was a survivor of paralytic polio and resulting paraplegia. He believed that one of the greatest oppressions is the suffering of meaningless wounds. When post-polio required him to retire from the music business, he became an independent scholar of myth, collaborating internationally with Robert Bly, Martin Shaw, and others. He understood that myths hold medicine that is crucial for culture and essential for our current times. In 2019, he “flew out of this story and into the next” leaving an archive of live hearthside recordings of his mythtelling and other teachings. This event will combine a newly mastered audio recording of Deardorff’s telling of the Firebird, with video, visual images and community discussion.
ABOUT THE STORY
The Firebird is an ancient presence in Slavic mythology, mainly encountered in old Russian and Ukrainian fairy tales. Especially well-suited to the present moment, the story reminds us that the cultures and ecosystems of Eastern Europe share a long history. The story illuminates symbiotic relationships and tensions between the Living World and civilization as we experience fierce beauty, the unquenchable yearning for freedom and the hypocrisy of leaders who prioritize personal power over the needs of the people they are meant to serve.
At this time when all kinds of tyranny—including war, hatred, white supremacy, autocratic governance, control of women's bodies, denial of truth, and domination of and extraction of resources from the environment—are increasingly present in culture and collective awareness, The Firebird offers timeless wisdom. Addressing themes of hubris, greed, respect for diverse species, complicity, choices and consequences, the story stirs memory and emotion and offers a time-honored way for each of us to personally and collectively reflect upon approaches to leadership, integrity, justice, and the holding of paradox.
In Deardorff’s tradition, after the story is shared, attendees will be invited to “feed the story,” to explore where the story has taken them and where they do or do not find themselves in it. In this way, story (and storyteller) will be “fed” in reciprocity for the medicine they have given us.
ABOUT the Mythsinger Legacy Project, event host and sponsors
The Mythsinger Legacy Project, a fiscally-sponsored project of Songwriting Works Educational Foundation, is dedicated to restoring the power of myth to culture and society.
Judith-Kate Friedman is an award-winning songwriter, performer, and producer, founder of the Songwriting Works Educational Foundation (a 501c3 non-profit organization) and Steward of the Mythsinger Legacy Project. She and Daniel Deardorff were partnered for the last 14 years of his life and collaborated frequently. She will be offering a course in Deardorff’s The Other Within in late 2022-23.
This event is made possible with the generous support of the Human Family Unity Foundation, the Jubilation Foundation, a project of the Tides Foundation, and the generosity of all who attend.
TIME ZONES
International attendees are welcome.
The times zones for this event include:
11:00am-1:30pm Pacific US/CAN
2:00-4:30pm Eastern US/CAN
7:00-9:30pm UK/BST
8:00-10:30pm Central Europe
6:00-8:30am (Friday) Auckland, NZ
Please check your local correlations and update to the latest version of Zoom for best signal experience.