How To Tell A Story

If you’ve ever taken a writing class, you’ve probably seen the quote by poet Muriel Rukeyser about the universe being made of stories, not atoms. It’s a lovely sentiment, but it probably allows people (and I include myself here) to assign a little bit too much importance to the dreck we eventually create.

But there are some people who do storytelling right, and you can find most of those people at The Moth, which is something of an institution in New York.

For the past decade or so, people have been gathering to tell their best stories as part of this storytelling collective. (I know. The phrase “storytelling collective” makes me think of some people I used to work with who had strong opinions about The Man and smelled like patchouli.) The best of those stories get recorded and shared, one each week, on the podcast. They’re stories about trying out for a role in a movie, the little things we do to make our jobs more interesting, and the secrets we keep from the people we love most.

The stories are sometimes so funny that you’ll be crying and your stomach will hurt. They are sometimes heartbreaking, too. Most important, they are always well told. Some of the best stories are told by people you’ve never heard of, but they’re people you’ll probably Google search afterwards just to see if you can get your hands on more of their work.

The Moth isn’t exactly undiscovered. Last month’s issue of Good magazine, for example, featured a profile of Lea Thau, the woman who’s run the show for the past few years. Slate ran a story about a Moth story that got Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell in a bit of hot water. And New York-centric media have done stories on The Moth for a long, long time. But outside the Big Apple, The Moth is just starting to gain traction.

I don’t know that the universe is made of stories. But The Moth proves that the universe between “Once upon a time” and “The end” can be remarkably compelling.