Storyteller, Maplewood Native Diane Wolkstein Passes Away
Official NYC storyteller, helped revive the art of storytelling.
Diane Wolkstein, a children’s author who helped revive the art of storytelling in her role as New York City's official -- and unofficial -- storyteller, died Thursday at the age of 70, according to The New York Times. Wolkstein grew up in Maplewood. She staged hundreds of storytelling events in New York City parks in the late 1960s and early 1970s, hosted a radio show on WNYC for twelve years, helped create the Storytelling Center of New York City, which trains thousands of volunteers and sends them into the city’s public schools and libraries, and authored two dozen books, according the Times article. She also helped establish the tradition of Saturday morning storytelling at the foot of the Hans Christian Andersen statue in Central …
