Hear a Story

Jay Performs 'Jonathan'

 

"Nonsense", 1-minutes 43-seconds

 

 

Jay Performs Forged in the Stars

 

"Forged in the Stars", 8-minutes 38-seconds

 


Watch a Story

"Too Crazy to Know Better"

Jay O'Callahan tells "Too Crazy to Know Better", recorded at the National Storytelling Conference, August 2013 in Richmond Virginia. This is a story about storyteller Sandra Harris's involvement in the Civil Rights struggle in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963.

 

 

Forged in the Stars

In 2008, NASA commissioned storyteller Jay O’Callahan to write a story to celebrate the national space agency’s 50th anniversary. O’Callahan’s work is the result of almost two years of research, including interviews with astronauts, engineers and many NASA employees. O’Callahan’s resulting work, entitled Forged in the Stars, features the stories of three prominent NASA personalities.

 

Excerpt from Forged in the Stars, featuring the story about JC High Eagle, a Cherokee, Osage, who had a vision when he was a little boy showing him he'd help people land on the moon. Later in life, JC High Eagle becomes an engineer at NASA.

 

 

Scene from Forged in the Stars, featuring the story of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin's landing on the moon.

 

 

Another clip of Jay's story Forged in the Stars. You may also view this clip at:
http://the99percent.com/videos/6857/jay-ocallahan-the-power-of-storytelling

 

 

Electra

Pill Hill is more than a neighborhood where Jay grew up – it's the inspiration for many of his stories. Meet Mrs. Lawrence who serves tea and Dickens on Wednesdays.

 

 

Raisins

Jay used to tell breakfast stories to try to get his children, Ted and Laura, to eat their oatmeal. He'd say "Eat your oatmeal and then I'll tell you a story." They in turn told Jay they'd eat their oatmeal after he told them a story.

One morning, there were raisins in their oatmeal and thus Jay's story, RAISINS, was born.