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person1960s–

Catherine Burns

Disciplines:
storytelling
storytelling/narrative
the moth
directing/editing

Summary

American storytelling editor and Artistic Director at The Moth — who has shaped thousands of personal narratives — editor of All These Wonders and Occasional Magic — the primary architect of The Moth's story development methodology.

Core Contribution

Creates The Moth's editorial and developmental methodology — Burns's approach to story development (finding the emotional truth, identifying the stakes, shaping the arc) is the institutional knowledge behind 25 years of The Moth's production; her anthology work makes this methodology visible.

Notable Works & Achievements

All These Wonders

Occasional Magic

How to Tell a Story

Historical Influences

Personal narrative tradition Theater and literary editing

Intellectual Lineage

The Moth All These Wonders Occasional Magic

Contemporaries & Peers

Meg Bowles George Dawes Green

Minds Influenced

Storytelling methodology

Intellectual Posterity

All These Wonders Occasional Magic Moth storytelling methodology

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Catherine Burns

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