Mary Gavan

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Mary Gavan 106 - 650 Bucketwheel Vancouver, BC V5Z 3Z2 Home phone: 604 683-1575 Email: Mary Gavan Website: www.marycelticstory.ca Mary grew up a tramp. As her family wintered in Scotland and summered in Ireland, she grew up tramping to and fro, enjoying the songs and stories of her grandparents and country folk. Mary’s first love was singing but her family threatened to disown her. In the interest of family harmony, Mary turned her voice to stories. Enamoured by the traditional legends, Mary told at festivals, established and emerging. The proximity of Europe enabled her to tell from Norway to France. Stories were also an integral part of her work as a nurse, especially in her speciality of palliative care with families in the community. She became a story catcher of her experiences as a midwife to the dying. Coming to Canada, Mary realised the need to open up the traditional legends in order to explain their Celtic significance. Rewriting parts of the story soon led to writing her own stories, weaving together strands of ordinary life experienced with understandings of Celtic knowledge learnt. Her commitment to advancing storytelling nationally throughout Canada and locally throughout Vancouver sent plans for the production of CDs into that Celtic mode of time future characterised by the motto: hasten slowly. Nationally, Mary is the 2008 – 2009 president; and a past editor of *le raconteu*r. Locally, she continues as the treasurer, publicist and performer for the Vancouver Storytellers who meet monthly. Nonetheless, she finds time to tell across the country and especially within her province of BC with occasional storytelling journeys back to Europe and her Celtic Countries. Her stories range from humorous to the profound. For example, humorous include interactive stories with unexpected questions such as determining how many times certain memorable persons were buried; for example, Burns, the national poet of Scotland. The profound include significant moments in life such as passing to the Otherworld as in the Auld Sailor. Whatever the theme, her stories are uniquely Celtic in composition, delivered with a beguiling accent and accompanied with a twinkle of absolute certainty! Mary's CD “Celtic Otherworld” gained one of the 2011 Storytelling World Awards. Evaluated mainly on story listener appeal, the CD has four of Mary's own stories weaving Celtic history and heritage. “Celtic Otherworld” is in Category 6, Storytelling Recordings http://www.storytellingworld.com/2011/ Audio clips, details and purchase are on Mary's website : www.marycelticstory.ca Jan 2011