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You stand on the edge of the world, the Blasket islands, a now uninhabited wilderness. One of the greatest film franchise stories ever told: Luke Skywalker’s dramatic return spot in Episode VII.
But this place has a connection closer to home, the great grandmother of one our Project Managers, Peig Sayers, renowned as one of the greatest storytellers in Ireland.
Peig’s Remarkable Talent for Storytelling: A Beacon of Island Life
What makes Peig remarkable, and why we’re already on a first-name basis, is that she, born in 1873, lived in poverty—a perspective historically rarely documented. No running water or electricity on the island, with periods too perilous for sailing to the mainland for supplies. Peig, a master of controlling the narrative, wove 350 tales of ancient folklore, history, and island life in her native language.
In her later life, scholars would come to the island to record her stories and write them up into books. But long before that, the young in her community would gather in her home each evening for their entertainment in a time before Netflix, Tiktok or doom scrolling were options.
They say you never knew which way the story would go and she had everyone hooked. On the island, despite few events, she transformed small occurrences into engaging storytelling.
We see this magnetism of storytelling repeated with the rise of personal brand and influencer marketing.
Embracing Authenticity
Individuals crafting engaging content from their daily lives outshine large corporations with their calculated communications. Goodbye granny knickers Spanx, hello sexy Skims. Or the natural beauty revolution we’ve seen led by Pamela Anderson, following her Netflix documentary, which has seen her following and impact sky-rocket. She arrived bare faced to a red carpet event with Vogue and was subsequently snapped up to model high fashion make up free at 56 – a complete contrast with the historical narrative created around her and her less than natural assets.
There’s no denying that we gravitate towards individuals whose stories and authenticity captivate us, often drawn to their independence from a narrative imposed upon them, especially as they age. Their actual truth is powerful. Once Christina Aguileria walked away from the corporate Disney image, we got the Stripped album, arguably her best.
The Privilege and Responsibility of Telling Others’ Stories
Peig’s lasting personal narrative had its struggle. Her poet and religious son transcribed her autobiography as she dictated it, before another individual edited it. Focusing on her stoic nature, those involved failed to fully realize her character, and she lacked final say in the edit. As such, her character was sometimes misinterpreted by those forced to learn her autobiography as part of the Irish syllabus, someone who represented misery and hardship – her children dead or emigrated, and ‘one foot in the grave’.
Locals tell of different stories, parties in her house that lasted until the sun rose in the east, and stories she kept for such occasions.
Where does this leave us with the art of storytelling, and the control around the narrative? That to tell another’s story is a privilege, and the care, understanding and authenticity we must hold sacred around it.
Empowering people to tell their own stories, through user-generated or crafted content, is the most powerful way to connect. Authenticity is the brand. Imagine if Peig had had her own platform to broadcast from? If a neutral influence had captured her autobiography?
One thing can’t be denied, the gift of the gab holds a magnetism that makes a truly great storyteller the only person you want to sit next to, but who controls the narrative may control the legacy.
