I’m sitting with the award-winning oral storyteller and author, Danyah Miller, in her West Sussex garden to hear about “swimming in the sea of story.” Danyah tells of vision and method – how story works best and what we might do to create story. She’s the first person to sing on the podcast, showing how young children can come to see how beautiful is the world. “Sharing stories in the seasons opens up a connection with the natural environment.” Personification is key too: speak of Mother Earth, Grandmother Moon, Brother Wind, Friend Robin, the Standing People. Story works slantwise to create inner courage and new paths. Danyah says, “I have no idea where each seed of story will go.”

Danyah also says, “I go to a place when time stops, when I’m telling a story.”

Danyah recent book is “Seven Secrets of Spontaneous Storytelling” (Hawthorn Press). 

Her hero is local suffragette Madge (Ethel Margartet) Turner: “I can’t get her out of my mind.”

She recommends the book, “The Secret Garden” by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1911): “a challenging book, yet it’s also how nature can inspire us.”

Her action: share a story with children. Then repeat. “You can’t water the rose only once.”

Danyah’s YouTube channel is at https://www.youtube.com/@danyahmillerthestoryteller.

Danya’s website is at: https://danyahmillerstoryteller.co.uk/ 

My new book will be supporting this podcast, and will be published in March 2027 by Unbreaking/5m. It’s called "Bamboo and Butterfly: Transformation and Story for Climate and Nature Recovery."