Storyteller weaves his magic at Pocopson

Posted by ChaddsFordLive on May 11, 2016

Fifth-graders in the classes of Dave Lichter and Laurie Swisher at Pocopson Elementary School listen as author and storyteller Robin Moore explains the writing process.

For more than 30 years, Robin Moore, an acclaimed writer and storyteller, has been captivating audiences throughout the country.

Author and storyteller Robin Moore captivates an audience of fifth-graders at Pocopson Elementary School.

On Tuesday, May 10, Moore brought his craft to Pocopson Elementary School, where fifth-graders in the classrooms of Dave Lichter and Laurie Swisher were treated to an hour and a half of animated insight into the writing process.

Lichter, a longtime organizer of the Unionville Community Fair, credited the fair with facilitating the visit. He explained that over the past six or seven years he developed a relationship with Moore because he’s been a popular attraction at the fair.

When Moore learned that both Lichter and Swisher have been reading Moore’s books aloud to their students, he worked Pocopson into his schedule. He even focused his presentation on the books the students had covered: the “Bread Sister” trilogy and “The Man with the Silver Oar.”

“After captivating the students with magical storytelling, he brought out his Irish harp and took them through a writing activity which involved seeing with both your inner and outer eyes,” Lichter said.

Moore invited the students to imagine taking a journey through the interior of a tree and then he gave them a few minutes to jot down their thoughts in their writing journals. Lichter said the fifth-graders would be encouraged to flesh out those details into a story at some point.

"He played his Irish harp while the kids began writing down their story from their 'journey,' and my class could not wait to get more time in class to continue their stories," said Swisher.

Lichter said Moore explained that 90 percent of writing a book involves revisions, and he stressed the importance of research and writing about what you know.

Some of the fifth-graders at Pocopson Elementary pose with author and storyteller Robin Moore, who visited the school on Tuesday, May 10.

For example, Moore, wearing his signature buckskin pants, told the fifth-graders that he had lived in a cabin with no electricity for two years while writing his trilogy. One of the students wanted to know whether Moore set out to write three books, and he said no. In fact, the main character, based on Moore’s great-great-grandmother, originally died at the end of the first book.

But then the editing process came into play, and suddenly Maggie was alive and ready to appear in books two and three, Lichter said. “The Man with the Silver Oar” was rewritten 21 times and the revising process closely resembles the practicing needed to master a musical instrument, according to Moore.

Swisher noted that Moore often personalized the presentation, using pictures to show the students the cabin he lived in for two years - "much in the way of Thoreau."

Moore told the students that his first book of 30,000 words took him seven years to write. Now that he is more familiar with the process, a book of similar length takes about 90 days. He typically spends about six months a year visiting schools, three months traveling and researching, and three months writing, generally from 8 a.m. to noon each day.

"The kids were highly engaged by his storytelling, as is always expected, and he offered wonderful tips on how to write," said Swisher. "It was a terrific visit."

“The kids were absolutely enthralled,” Lichter agreed, adding that the audience would have been happy to continue the experience, but the bell sounded. “It was time for math,” Lichter said.