People tell stories to make sense of their lives and what's going on around them, according to author, advocate, and story teller, Arnold Zable.
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Zable will practise his craft in Albury next month when Write Around The Murray launches its 2019 festival program.
The Humanising Power of Story on August 2 at Albury Library Museum will draw on Zable's four decades of writing, travelling and sharing tales.
"It goes back to the most ancient of art forms, where people sat around the fire thousands of years ago and told stories to make sense of the world," he said.
"After food and shelter, these sorts of face-to-face engagements are what makes us human and what we crave."
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Formerly a Melbourne University lecturer, Zable has worked in the USA, Papua New Guinea, China, and many parts of Europe and south east Asia.
His books include the winner of five Australian literary awards Jewels and Ashes (1991) and Cafe Scheherazade, (2001) which depicts the lives of former refugees who now meet in a coffee shop in a seaside suburb in Melbourne.
Zable said modern communication did not always lend itself to story telling.
"Whilst social media has got its place and it's an extraordinary revolution in human communications and in a way, at its best, creates a kind of global community, on the other hand something is missing and what is missing is that intimacy, that calmness when people sit together and share stories," he said.
Border doctor and musician Hecham Harb will also perform at the launch, offering music from his Syrian homeland on violin and oud.
Zable said his tales would encompass the globe.
"They'll move from New York to Greece, where my wife's family comes from, through to possibly the Middle East and also Australia-based stories," he said.
"I have a menu of stories and also certain things that I want to get across and communicate about the art of story and so no two evenings are the same.
"Rather than having a set script I give myself that leeway to, in a way, walk the tightrope of story telling."
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Zable remembered being impressed by Albury Library Museum's light and space.
"And I thought, well, this is a place that backs the arts and also backs community, creates a centre where people can come, feel comfortable and at home," he said.
This made it easier to share experiences, attend workshops or even just meet each other.
"Spaces need to be created if we are to foster and to nurture those sorts of connections," the author said.
Go to writearoundthemurray.org.au for more details.
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