Replay: Danté Stewart shares Five Things He's Learned about The Power of Narrative
Check out the first five minutes of his recent class.
“The job of any artist, the job of any human, is to meet us where we’re at and to figure out how we get through it on the other side.”
“It’s not just about the story you feel, but it’s about the story you tell yourself. It’s not just about the story you’ve heard, it’s about the story you believe.”
“My job as a writer is just to help the reader encounter people who have something at stake—to allow them to interact with those people and see the choices that are made for them and the choices they make for themselves.”
“The way my grandfather began to be in touch with himself—and the way he stayed in touch with himself—was the power of repeating a story. Our narrative stitches us together and keeps us together.”
“Going back to the past changed absolutely nothing. But what I learned changed everything.”
– Danté Stewart, Five Things I’ve Learned about The Power of Narrative
On Sunday, February 16th, Danté joined us on Five Things I’ve Learned in order to explore the power of storytelling, its magic, and how narratives help us navigate the world with empathy and deeper understanding. Through literature, poetry, and personal reflection, participants learned to recognize and harness the transformative power of storytelling to create more profound and empathetic narratives.
Danté is the author of debut memoir Shoutin’ in the Fire: An American Epistle, a stirring meditation on being Black and learning to love in a loveless, anti-Black world. The book won Danté the Georgia Author of the Year award from the Georgia Writer’s Association in 2022, by The Center for American Progress as one of “22 Faith Leaders to Watch in 2022,” and by Religion News Service as one of “Ten Up-And-Coming Faith Influencers."
Through powerful readings, personal reflections, and deep conversation, Danté reminded us that stories have the power to heal, challenge, and transform—and that the most important story we tell is the one we live every day.
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