Declan Forde is an Irish storyteller, poet and illustrator. He has an amazing talent for telling people about events plainly, yet interestingly. This essay will focus on the "Express Yourself Through Stories" performance by Declan Forde, which took place on April 16th, and the impression it has left.
Short Biography
The artist writes stories, poems and songs. Their main feature is that they are filled with "the ceili-house tradition" ("Declan Forde"). While listening to his calm voice, a person feels like home, sitting with friends and talking about different events that happened during the day. The author accompanies some of the stories on a guitar. The friendly and warm atmosphere is rather relaxing, and one might think that it cannot stimulate a person to think about some serious issues. However, this is how the talent of Declan Forde works. Plain texts and soothing music make people deliberate on the topics the poet sings about.
Creation of Declan Forde
The song that had the greatest impact on me was the one about Irish women. The name of the song is "Her", and it pertains to all women, mothers, wives, and their life. This is a deep song. It depicts how Irish women treat men and how their life changes after they marry and have to take control of all home routine. This is a bitter-sweet story that can make smile and flinch. Probably, the author chose such a topic and managed to share it with the audience so sincerely because he is a father of three daughters ("Women in the House"). All his life, he was surrounded by women and their care; and the song could be his gratefulness for being patient and understanding. Another song that touches is "Away from Home". Declan Forde dedicated several works to the topic of immigrants, who left Ireland and never came back, for example, "Goodbye to All That (Poor Paddy's Lament)," on YouTube. These stories help a modern generation of Irish people learn the history and appreciate their country. Overall, the Irish storyteller did a great job to elucidate the life of Irish nation and its most famous poets and musicians ("Declan Forde").
Truthfulness is another characteristic that joins Declan Forde's stories. They tell about real events, and this is the main secret of their moving nature. The pictures, the Irish storyteller demonstrates during the show, serve as illustrations to the narratives. This makes the whole performance even more enjoyable and easier to understand because images present the principal ideas of his songs. Declan Forde illustrates the stories himself and he knows what exactly the core is. The representation of songs helps the audience to focus on the major theme, grasp and feel it.
As it is mentioned in the name of the performance, Declan Forde expresses himself through stories. His skill to combine poetry and music with the routine of real life magnetizes. He tells the history of his country and his own life by means of interesting narratives that evoke feelings and provoke deliberation of the described events. Attending Declan Forde's show is an interesting experience that is worth sharing with other people.