Biography
I grew up with stories in a warm family (I’m the oldest child in this family photo). My dad shared true stories of his work as a journalist, my biologist mom painted bedtime fantasies, and my Italian aunts told of coming to the new world. I started college planning to join the foreign service and went to France for my junior year. But, suddenly, I wanted a different challenge and so started hitchhiking overland to India.
After a most amazing year, I returned to Boston, quickly finished college, then went off for a two year voyage: trading stories for dance lessons in the Tibetan School of Drama, staying in a Thai Buddhist Monastary, trekking in Nepal, studying dance in Indonesia, and watching magnificent Indian storytellers.
On that grand adventure, in a South Indian artist colony called Cholamandal, I met a sculptor, Paramasivam, who was born on the same day - February 10 - as I was. We fell in love but weren’t sure if a cross-cultural marriage would work. So I returned to U.S. to do my M.A. and to sell his batiks.
Almost three years later, in 1977, Sivam came to Boston. We were married four months later, when his visa expired. We returned to India and stayed for several years in Cholamandal as Sivam sculpted and I explored Indian storytelling. I started telling stories, timidly, in Indian schools and on Indian television. I felt that I had found my life path.
We moved to Seattle in 1981. I turned to fulltime storytelling, working first as an Artist-in-Residence and then finding more and more work. Sivam created more great pieces, and our wonderful son, Manu, joined us in 1986. Next, we moved to lovely, peaceful Vashon Island, which is a 20 minute ferry ride from Seattle. Since we were both self-employed artists, we couldn't afford to buy a house, but we did buy land. Then slowly, very slowly, we built our own house, with help from friends and family. It is a wonderful home, with deer in the front yard. We also try to spend time in our "second home" in South India, Cholamandal.
As our house was going up, my books were coming out. My first book sprang from a collecting project I did with Southeast Asian refugees. Then another followed and another; I now have 15 books out and am working on more.
I feel very lucky to earn a living from doing work which I love and which helps me to meet so many great people. In my search for stories, I’ve slid through Indonesian rice fields, sipped sake with Japanese epic singers, met with Korean monks in high mountain temples, hiked the Himilayas with Tibetan dancers, marveled at Kamishibai Festivals, and shared tea with warmhearted Southeast Asian refugees. I also travel widely in the U.S., Canada, and Asia — telling tales in festivals, museums, libraries, and in many schools. And my books reach to those who I may never see in person. It is indeed a wonderful life!
