Diane Wolkstein

Diane Wolkstein (November 11, 1942 – January 31, 2013) was a folklorist and author of children's books. She also served as New York City's official storyteller from 1967–1971.

Biography

As New York's official storyteller beginning in 1967, Wolkstein visited two of the city's parks each weekday, staging hundreds of one-woman storytelling events. After successfully talking her way into the position, she realized "there was no margin for error," she said in a 1992 interview. "I mean, it was a park. [The children would] just go somewhere else if they didn't like it."

She also had a radio show on WNYC, Stories From Many Lands, from 1968 until 1980, and she helped create the Storytelling Center of New York City.

Wolkstein authored two dozen books, primarily collections of folk tales and legends she gathered during research trips. She made many visits to China, Haiti and Africa. She collaborated with Assyriologist Samuel Noah Kramer to translate Inanna, Queen of Heaven and Earth, the story of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of fertility, love, and war.

The Library of Congress houses an archive of Wolkstein's photographs, performance events and productions, interviews, and other materials.

Personal life

Wolkstein was born in Newark, New Jersey and grew up in Maplewood, New Jersey. Her father Henry was an accountant and her mother Ruth was a librarian. She received a bachelor's degree from Smith College and a master's degree in education from Bank Street College of Education. While living in Paris, she studied mime under Étienne Decroux. She had a daughter, Rachel Zucker.

Wolkstein was in Taiwan to research a book of Chinese folk stories when she underwent emergency surgery for a heart condition. She died in the city of Kaohsiung at the age of 70.