The Kraemer Family Library honored on-campus stories and spoken performances at the 10th annual Purr Storytelling Hour on Oct. 17.
Students and faculty gathered last Thursday night in the library’s second floor apse. Event-goers talked and enjoyed the hors d’oeuvres and drinks that were served at the three-hour-long event hosted and organized by WEST Assistant Professor Ilaheva Tua’one.
The first hour of the event was dedicated to mingling and getting to know other storytellers. Later on, the audience settled in to hear three pre-submitted stories, and an additional three from members of the crowd who joined in. The stories were told by students and staff contestants then scored out of five by a panel of three groups of judges: three from SGA, two from GAF and two from the Feminist club.
According to Tua’one, submitted stories were nonfiction and autobiographical. They also had to adhere to the theme, which Tua’one picks as the professor of storytelling, a position she has held for the past three years.
“The first year was liberation, the second year was transformation and this year was transgression … because I had a wild summer,” she said. “Some of the best stories are when we are just breaking the rules just a little bit, or transgressing… between borders or identities.”
The Purr featured cash prizes for the top three stories: $200 for first place, $150 for second place and $75 for third place. Each winner also received a championship ring. Tua’one added that beyond the money, she has seen the Purr’s impact on contestant’s writing careers stretch beyond UCCS for past winners.
“Some of the storytellers that won in the past have gone on to do storytelling in the community,” she said, referencing a previous winner who has gone on to continue storytelling as a drag performer.
At the end of the evening, first place went to Salem Williams, second went to Lily Gillen and third went to V. B. Rankin. The audience choice award went to Apollo Bernal.
Williams’ story, “The Great Big Horse,” was a powerful tale of her struggle with grief and substances, the people in her life who hurt her and the people in her life who made it possible to recover. “Nobody’s born evil, nobody is born to be bad, nobody is born to make someone else’s life worse, but there are some people out there who choose intentionally to hurt,” Williams said in her story.
Runner-up Lily Gillen used the contest as an opportunity to “jump in the water” and confront her shyness about public speaking. She said she typically prefers writing research papers about behavioral analysis for class, but she wants to write non-fiction books focusing on specific areas of her field.
Gillen’s story, “Transgress on God,” focused on her journey of moving away from faith and taking control of her own well-being. “I was taught from a young age that it was against God’s will to harm yourself, a transgression,” she began, detailing the abuse and trauma that led her to rely on the support of the people in her life that truly loved her.
UCCS graduate and local playwright V. B. Rankin won third place for her story about writing a fan letter to a cat, only to fall under suspicion when the cat disappeared. Rankin is currently employed by the College of Nursing as a “standardized patient,” in which she portrays the symptoms of hypothetical patients so students can practice working in those conditions. She described it as “[playing] sick for a living.”
Rankin has competed in past storytelling hours. This year, she tried to choose a story that she felt would resonate with more students. “I had originally come with a piece that was very relevant to my experience as a middle-aged woman, so I was like, you know what, I have done so much living. Why don’t I tell a story about when I was in the majority of the [undergraduate’s] age?” she said.
Rankin described her writing preference as “the funnier, the better,” both when writing scripts for theatre companies around town as well as personal stories. “I hope that everyone cringes for me,” she said of her story.
Sandy and Dorothy Kraemer started the storytelling hour and still fund it today. Both of them attend the event annually, and this year was no exception.
According to Sandy Kraemer, he had the idea for the event after he saw technology playing a larger role in the library. “I could see books disappearing from the library,” he said. “And so, I said to myself … what does a library do? Basically, [it should] be a source for storytelling.”
Kraemer teased some upcoming ideas for library innovation in November but did not disclose them yet.
For other storytelling opportunities, Tua’one recommended a similar competition that will be held in February as well as the semi-annual Story Truck, which involves having participants trade a story for a piece of art, organized by VAPA Professor Nikki Pike.
V.B. Rankin presenting her story “Pumpkin.” Photo by Ellie Myers.