Storyteller by Liz Lockhead:

Storyteller – Liz Lochhead

She sat down at the scoured table in the swept kitchen beside the dresser
with its cracked delft.
And every last crumb of daylight was salted away.
No one could say the stories were useless
for as the tongue clacked
five or forty fingers stitched
corn was grated from the husk
patchwork was pieced
or the darning was done.
Never the one to slander her shiftless.
Daily sloven or spotless no matter whether
Dishwater or tasty was her soup.
To tell the stories was her work.
It was like spinning, gathering thin air
to the singlest strongest thread.
Night in she’d have us waiting, held breath,
for the ending we knew by heart.
And at first light
as the women stirred themselves to build the fire
as the peasant’s feet felt for clogs
as thin grey washed over flat fields
the stories dissolved in the whorl of the ear
but they hung themselves upside down
in the sleeping heads of the children
till they flew again
in the storyteller’s night.

Overview

The poem pays tribute to a traditional female storyteller, placing her in a rural domestic setting.
She is surrounded by the quiet labor of other women — stitching, cooking, darning — while she works with words.
Lochhead elevates storytelling as a craft, portraying it as both an artistic and essential form of work.
The poem captures the passing down of oral traditions and their lingering effect on listeners, especially children.
Storytelling is shown as timeless, cyclical, and deeply woven into daily life and identity.

Key Quotes:

“To tell the stories was her work.”
“gathering thin air to the singlest strongest thread”
“they flew again in the storyteller’s night”

Underlying Meanings

Storytelling as labor: Just as others cook or sew, the storyteller spins narratives — her version of “work.”
The power of oral tradition: Stories bind communities, preserve histories, and shape cultural memory.
Memory and imagination: Stories live on in children’s dreams, showing the subconscious influence of storytelling.
Feminine resilience and artistry: The poem highlights women’s contributions — often overlooked — to art, culture, and family life.

Key Quotes:

“It was like spinning, gathering thin air”
“as the tongue clacked five or forty fingers stitched”
“they hung themselves upside down in the sleeping heads of the children”

Poetic Techniques

Metaphor: Storytelling is compared to spinning thread, making something strong from nothing.
Enjambment: The lines flow naturally with minimal punctuation, reflecting the continuous flow of storytelling.
Symbolism: Cracked delft (old pottery), patchwork, and soup symbolize tradition, endurance, and domestic life.

Key Quotes:

“gathering thin air to the singlest strongest thread”
“every last crumb of daylight was salted away”
“stories dissolved in the whorl of the ear”

Literary Techniques

Alliteration: Subtle use, e.g., “singlest strongest”, adds musicality.
Imagery: Vivid visual and tactile details (e.g., “cracked delft,” “flat fields”) ground the poem in a rural domestic world.
Irony: The storyteller’s work may seem invisible or passive, yet it’s described as powerful and foundational.
Ambiguity: The poem avoids naming the storyteller, making her a universal figure.

Key Quotes:

“never the one to slander her shiftless”
“held breath, for the ending we knew by heart”
“as thin grey washed over flat fields”

Structure

Free verse: No fixed rhyme scheme or rhythm, fitting the natural flow of spoken storytelling.
One continuous stanza: Reflects the uninterrupted and immersive quality of oral stories.
Chronological flow: Moves from evening to dawn, mirroring the life cycle of a single storytelling session.
Contrast of day and night: Night = storytelling, imagination; day = chores, reality.

Key Quotes: