Paper short abstract:

This study examines the meanings of nostalgia in connection to the renewed interest in oral storytelling in Denmark. Contemporary storytellers’ nostalgic images play an important role in their motivation to change the past through oral storytelling.

Paper long abstract:

References to the past are often observed in connection with contemporary oral storytelling in Denmark. The storytellers create nostalgic interpretations of the past, and this study investigates what meanings Danish oral storytellers attribute to nostalgia in connection with storytelling.

An image of people gathered around an idyllic fireplace was frequent during interviews, when storytellers were asked to imagine oral storytelling in the past. This image reveals some important clues as to what the storytellers are longing for. Among other things, it hints at the lack of electricity in past times. Present-day storytellers place storytelling in contrast to electricity and electronic equipment, which they feel are distorting human interaction and making people passive. To create other experiences for people of today the storytellers want to revive the storytelling tradition that they believe has died out. The storytellers do not want to reenact the past or relive the past. Instead, the past is used as a counter-image to modern life and makes it easier to talk about the wishes and values attached to storytelling. The idyllic images of storytelling in the past remind them that alternatives to modern lifestyles are possible. For the researcher, nostalgia can thus be used as a way to get insight into the storytellers' ideals and hopes for contemporary storytelling.