Storytelling at the Wren’s Nest
The Wren's Nest would not exist without stories. They're at the heart of our history and mission.
The Brer Rabbit stories that made Joel Chandler Harris a famous author in his time are part of a long tradition of oral folklore, particularly in African American and Native American cultures.
For decades, The Wren's Nest has presented a weekly storytelling hour on Saturdays, allowing visitors to hear the tales in the spirit of their original form.
Professional storytelling artists perform these sessions: Chetter Galloway, Gwendolyn Napier, Josie Bailey, Deborah Strahorn, and Christine Arinze Samuel. All of them bring a unique style to their craft, making the old stories come to life for people of all ages. With their talents, we share the stories that entertained, inspired, and taught so many (including Joel Chandler Harris) and introduce them to new audiences.
Wren’s Nest storytellers are affiliated with local/regional/national groups such as the Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia, the Georgia Storytelling Network, the National Association of Black Storytellers, and Toastmasters International, and they regularly perform for audiences across metro Atlanta, Georgia, and the Southeast, from local schools and libraries to large festivals and conferences.
We are honored to provide a platform for their talents each week at the Wren’s Nest to bring folktales from across the globe to life.
If you would like to have a storyteller visit your classroom or organization, please contact us.
Our Current Storytellers
Gwendolyn J. Napier
AKA: "Miss LuvDrop" the Storyteller
Gwendolyn is a performing and teaching artist and has worked with young children, youth, and adults since 1990. She is a Retired Educator from the Fulton County Board of Education. She has worked with many school-wide and community-based programs and is a native of Atlanta, Georgia.
She focuses on creating stories that will keep audiences engaged through songs, music, movement, dancing, instruments, and props to make the stories come alive and stay alive in their minds.
Miss Napier has performed in many schools, libraries, festivals and conferences including Historic Oakland Cemetery “Spirits of Oakland,” Zoo Atlanta Wild Adventures, Big Read Storytelling Festival, Home Depot Backyard Fall Festival, Stone Soup Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival Children Zone, Juneteenth Atlanta Parade, Georgia Mountain Storytelling Festival, and The Wren’s Nest Séance with Fox 5 reporter Paul Milliken that celebrated the premiere of the film A Haunting in Venice, to name just a few.
She enjoys reading and telling a variety of stories from cultures around the world and was inspired by her trip to West Africa, where she had the opportunity to experience Nigerian culture and customs from many families and museums.
Sharing realistic goals and strategies are important to her to reach the youth through real-life experiences to assist and motivate their self-esteem, and to remind adults that our history is not lost, but our past experiences from the roots of our ancestors connect us to the present allowing us to spread our wings to soar into the future.
Storytelling plays a vital role in her life; she is a member of many organizations. She is President of the Georgia Storytelling Network (2023 and 2024), Past Vice President of Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia (2015 and 2016), National Association of Black Storytellers’ Adopt-A-Tellers Program and Education Committee Member, Ambassador for Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Children (GEEARS), Georgia Council for the Arts - Performing and Teaching Artist, Artist Standing Strong Together (ASST) Youth Mentor, Wren’s Nest Advisory Committee Member, and National Storytelling Network At-Large Board Member.
Specializations: drumming, singing, ribbon twirling, writing, historical portrayals, workshop facilitator, and youth mentoring
Chetter Galloway
Chetter Galloway grew up hearing his father tell stories on Sunday road trips. One of his favorite stories was The Talking Skull, a West African cautionary tale where a man loses his head! He first experienced storytelling as a historical reenactor at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Chetter graduated from East Tennessee State University with a Master of Arts degree in Storytelling.
Chetter’s repertoire ranges from traditional African folktales to humorous personal narratives and often includes African drumming in his performances. His programs are perfect for schools, churches, libraries, family reunions, holiday celebrations, and more.
Chetter is President of Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia, a board member for the Georgia Storytelling Network, a member of the National Association of Black Storytellers, and he’s also a Toastmaster. In his spare time, Chetter is an avid runner who creates stories while he’s running!
Specializations: Drumming, audience participation, sing-a-longs, role-plays, historical reenactments, music and stories, storytelling workshops, storytelling residencies
Deborah Strahorn
Deborah Strahorn believes that Storytelling is the “Voice of Literacy.”
She has been a professional storyteller with Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia for over 25 years and teaches storytelling for the RISE after-school program at Drew Charter School. Deborah was the featured teller at over 33 libraries for the Atlanta Public Library Summer Reading programs in 2015 and 2017.
Founder & Director for Word-of-Mouth Stories n3d, Inc., Deborah provides storytelling and literacy workshops and performances for youth and adults. She created a series of virtual literacy programs for the Clarkston Ready School Initiative in 2021 and in 2022 and was a guest Scribes youth writing teacher at The Wren’s Nest.
She was the Special Projects Coordinator and Storyteller-In-Residence at the APEX Museum from 2015 to 2022 and has a self-published children’s book, “Jabari and the Always Busy, Sometimes Quiet, Often Noisy Room.”
Specialization: drumming
Josie Bailey
Born and raised in Georgia, south of Atlanta, Josie graduated from Georgia State University. Josie worked in the corporate world for much of her adult life. She discovered her true calling as a performer approximately twenty years ago while volunteering as a story reader at her son's school.
She shares her talents at festivals, museums, preschools, primary schools, middle schools, high schools, libraries, senior centers, family and class reunions, anniversaries and weddings, homegoings and other church events, conferences, and business/professional meetings across the Southeast. Josie is a member of Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia, Laughter Yoga International, and is DBE certified.
Through body movements, literary magical voices, dialects, and colorful garments, Josie presents original stories and beloved works that will delight all ages. Her stories often reflect her African-American roots and a bit of history. Josie takes her audience through an educational adventure as she tells the tales of Aesop, Uncle Remus, Anansi, and others that stand as legends for many. Josie's recitations inspire many in her audience to read more. Her performances reach, inspire, and entertain.
She was included in Owl's Tree Bookstore/Bellsouth Family Communications Project which appeared on WSB-TV and WCGL-TV.
Specializations: laughing yoga, dance
Christine Arinze Samuel
AKA: Sistah "Olufemi"
Christine Arinze Samuel is a seasoned Storyteller and still growing. She is an active member of Kuumba Storytellers of Georgia and a member of the National Association of Black Storytellers.
Her love of storytelling is threaded from her childhood and into her adult life. As a retired educator, Christine takes seriously the ongoing need to continue the art of storytelling to inform, inspire, and to invigorate people. Christine is a poet and a published author. She specializes in telling Secrets of the Quilts used as they helped African Americans held in the bondage called slavery escape. She has been a storyteller for twenty-five years.
Specializations: drumming, singing
In Memoriam
Akbar Imhotep performing for students at The Wren’s Nest, 1998.
Akbar performing in the same room at The Wren’s Nest in 2020.
Akbar Imhotep
Originally from Perry, Georgia, Akbar Imhotep was a fixture in Atlanta’s arts and culture community.
An actor, puppeteer, and a 2012 Governor’s Arts & Humanities Awardee, Akbar visited the Nest for the first time in 1985 and heard that it was looking for storytellers. He volunteered and became our storyteller-in-residence, entertaining countless visitors to the house and students at numerous schools over the last five decades and until his death in 2022. In total, he was associated with the house for 37 years — longer than Joel Chandler Harris himself.
Usually dressed in a colorful dashiki, Akbar delighted in making connections between the Uncle Remus tales and African folktales, especially in his telling of the Angolan tale “Smart Turtle.”
Akbar was a critical figure in the transition of The Wren’s Nest into a more welcoming and culturally inclusive institution. We were so happy for him when the National Association of Black Storytellers honored him in 2022 with its Zora Neale Hurston Award for lifetime achievement, given to those who demonstrate a long-term commitment and contribution to the preservation and perpetuation of African American folklore.
Akbar Imhotep will always be part of our story at The Wren’s Nest.