No Loss: The Moth Storytelling Series

The Moth storytellers told "Stories of Loss" at the New York Public Library last night. Sounds like a downer, but not so.

The first storyteller, Jeffrey Rudell, talked about being the first contestant kicked off a reality series. But his story really was about overcoming his lifelong fear of feeling dumb.

Josh Swiller told a story about randomness of tragedy. His message was about not feeling sorry for yourself. Halfway into the story, Swiller told the audience he is deaf.

The third story was hysterically funny about Ophira Eisenberg letting go of her ex-boyfriend by way of a Haitian Witch spell.

At intermission, I called a dogwalker, so I could stay for the second half.

Bliss Broyard then told how she discovered her father's secret when he died and how she finally accepted that her family would always live with the secrecy.

Melissa Banks, author of The Girls Guide to Hunting and Fishing, told how she would never feel invincible again after being hit by a car while riding a bike home from cancer radiation treatment.

The Moth is a non-profit organization created by George Dawes Green who missed his front-porch storytelling evenings in the South. He resurrected the tradition in New York City in 1997. The mainstage Moth events are held monthly. The organization holds more frequent "slams" open to a wider range of storytellers. Check out their website for event listings. Or you can buy one of the many CD collections offered on their site.