The Alan Bruford Memorial Lecture 2016, Scottish International Storytelling Festival (SISF)
This year I was delighted to give the annual Alan Bruford Memoral Lecture at the Scottish International Storytelling Festival of Dreams 2016, titled ‘The Space Between is Where the Maysie Lives’: Presence, Imagination and Experience in the Traditional Ballad’.
"Dr Mairi McFadyen invites us to reflect on the magic and power of stories in song. Words and music, singer and listener, past and present fuse together in the “ballad experience” sending shivers up the spine and unlocking layers of imagination, memory and meaning. Mairi will draw on her research with Travellers and ballad singers, featuring archive material from the School of Scottish Studies Archives. This lecture is held in memory of Alan Bruford, folklore scholar and archivist."
The sound quality for the first few minutes is not great, but does improve after 2.06 mins in! Introduction by Professor Gary West; lecture begins at 6 mins.