Storyteller spreads his magic
By Raviya Ismail
Staff Writer

The Home News Tribune
Wednesday, August 21, 2002

CRANFORD: Storyteller Fred Quinn believes it's not enough for his audiences to listen to his stories; they have to become a part of them.

The Cranford resident, who spoke to seniors in South Brunswick earlier this month, enjoys spreading his magic as a full-time storyteller and captivates audiences doing so.

"Perhaps you'd have to be there to see it," Quinn said. "I can mesmerize an audience.  What really is happening is, you're not just telling them a story and they're hearing it, they see themselves in the story."

Quinn performs in schools, nursing homes, at outdoor festivals and for community groups.  His performances usually last from 35 minutes to an hour.

Quinn comes about his career naturally, he has been telling stories all his life.  He said he inherited the talent from his father and practices on his five younger siblings while growing up.

But 14 years ago, Quinn realized his knack for storytelling could expand, so he decided to tell stories professionally in front of groups.


Quinn started with schools, moved onto workshops, and three years ago started to tell stories to senior groups.  "As time went on and as people got to know me, I developed a whole program for seniors."

Quinn has become a member of storytelling organizations -- the National Storytelling Network, National Story League and and Garden State Storytellers' League based in Trenton -- so that he can touch base with others who weave tales.

"It's an opportunity to meet with a group of storytellers on a monthly basis," he said.

Quinn writes many of the stories he tells, which range from love stories to humorous anecdotes, and tells stories written by others, including folk tales from around the world.  He speaks Spanish fluently and sometimes tells parts of a story in Spanish to further entertain his audience.

Much of the material for Quinn's stories comes from his own life.  He also "borrows" experiences from his family to tell a story.  On occasion, Quinn hears stories from others that he retells with their permission.

Because of Quinn's storytelling expertise, his family encouraged him to put together a book on what he said is people's favorite -- love stories.  He worked on the collection of love stories for more than three years and conducted 600 interviews.  He is now working on getting the book published.

Quinn is so passionate about his storytelling that he lugs around memorabilia that triggers memories for his older audience.  He carries old-fashioned razors, a toaster from the 1930s, a rolling pin and a can of Flit bug spray.

"When I show them things that were a part of their daily life, a flood of memories come back," he said.  "They think of when they used (the item)."

Quinn incorporates the items in his storytelling, whipping out a chamber pot and asking the audience, "I don't know what this is, is this a helmet from the first World War?"  The response, he said, usually is laughter, and then they tell him about the object.  The storytelling device gets his audience to actively listen to the story and gets them talking.

"Then you start to hear wonderful stories from the seniors," he said.

Quinn met one gentleman who was a chauffeur for President Roosevelt, and the man told him stories about his life.  Quinn said there are many people out there with incredible stories just waiting to be told.

"I have a passion for this," he said.

Raviya Ismail: (732) 565-7261; e-mail rismail@thnt.com