The Mighty Mandela: Favorite Folktales Now An Audiobook
Given the choice between reading a book or listening to one, reading is almost always the Mightier choice.
When you read, you see how sentences are put together.
You follow along in the rhythm the writer intended.
Reading teaches you how words work. Reading teaches you how to write.
But there are times when listening to a story is just as good, and a brand new audiobook titled “Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales” is one of those times. That’s because the telling of folktales is an oral tradition.
They’re intended to be heard. And “Nelson Mandela’s Favorite African Folktales” will be heard plenty here at Mighty Writers, where few things are valued more than a tall tale.
(Also, look for news in this space of a special Mighty Writers workshop on the life and times of Nelson Mandela, who just turned 91, coming soon.)
“Africa is the oldest spot where we stood up on two feet,” says actress Alfre Woodard, director of the Mandela folktales project. “And since we stood up there’s been the passing on of tales.”
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Alfre Woodard: directed the folktale project.
And who better suited to narrate Nelson Mandela’s favorite folktales than those who make their living acting out stories?
Mandela’s folktales are told by a who’s who of Hollywood—including (South African born) Charlize Theron, Forest Whitaker, Matt Damon, Helen Mirren, Don Cheadle and Samuel L. Jackson, among others.
The stories in this collection emanate not just from South Africa, but from Morocco, Kenya, Swaziland and other locations on the continent.
Some of the folktales on the audiobook tell of magic and fantastic animals. Others tell of hardship and life’s hard lessons. But most are sheer fantasy.
One folktale centers on snakes with seven heads. Another features Zulu tricksters. There is a story about a Kenyan lion who teaches a hyena a lesson.
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Charlize Theron: A native of Nelson Mandela’s homeland, Theron’s appeared in South African commercials opposing violence against women.
Clearly, not all the folktales in the audio collection are intended to teach a great moral lesson. Many are well told stories that simply depict the sometimes colorful absurdity of life. There’s value in that, too.
Profits from this endeavor support Nelson Mandela’s initiative to provide for children who have been orphaned and made vulnerable by the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Los Angeles non-profit Artists for a New South Africa will donate 20-percent of the profits they receive from the New York-based publishing house to the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.
