Laura

Laura

Pigeon lover, Storyteller, Meditator

“There’s this wilderness of herds of people out there. The thing I love about New York is the immense diversity of this city. Even the pigeons are different here, just totally relaxed on the streets.”

“What I love about storytelling is the effect it can have on people. I want to accomplish a wakeful, reciprocal engagement. I want to slow people down into joy.”

“I was born in Brooklyn and had a boyfriend in high school. He took me on my first date into Manhattan. We went to Village Vanguard to hear Nina Simone sing and after that my life was changed. I had never heard something that touched me so deeply. The bliss of voice.”

“People around me kept saying I would be so great teaching theater to kids, so I had children coming over to my house. I had no idea what to do with them, but I always knew how to tell fairy tales. We went to Central Park to perform, and the parents encouraged me to do an act as well, so I did a Russian fairy tale. Something happened that day, a connection between myself and the audience. I felt a calling towards storytelling and wanted to know more. That was the day I decided to quit grad school, and go on a detour to explore. I’ve been on that detour for 50 years now.”

“The other day I was on my way uptown to tell stories at a small private school. They had fairy-obsession. I was late and ran to the subway, it was crowded, but there was one seat next to a homeless woman. I sat down and started looking through my notes for the kids. While lost in my own thoughts, the homeless woman started singing. Her voice was immensely beautiful. When I looked up people were smiling. You know how people are on the subway here. They look at their phones, heads down. Then the lady stopped, and people turned back to their phones… Later that day the kids at the school asked me if I had ever met a real fairy. I told them ‘I think I might have, today.”

“A lot of amazing things have happened on the subway. I remember I had been searching all over the world for some music. I was looking for something different, interesting, but I couldn’t find it so eventually I gave up. Then, one day I went down to the subway at 14th street. A Mongolian man sitting on an overturned can playing a horse headed fiddle. There it was. I found it.”

“I think people in New York should slow down. You don’t have to go to everything, but the things you go to, really have a look at it. See the shape of a building, see the park and the wildlife in the park. Stop every so often and really listen. You can be standing on Broadway on the busiest day, and suddenly hear the sound of a morning dove.”

“I see love all around the city. A few weeks ago it was freezing. I was out and saw this well dressed woman with a big shopping bag, talking to a homeless person on the street. Then the woman pulled out a jacket and a blanket from her shopping bag and offered it to the homeless person. I thought to myself “it’s not gone. There it is...”

“New York is like being inside an enormous brain. A thousand thoughts and a thousand stories are bouncing off each other. On the other hand there is a kind of secret peacefulness to New York City. I can sometimes feel it. Like it’s a holy city.” ”

Q&A

What neighborhood do you live in? Union Square, Manhattan.

Best thing about living there? I love my home. When you have a place like this in New york you don’t give it up. It’s so astonishing. I did have a friend once who called this place an ‘ethnic-graphicdreamscape.’

Favorite neighborhood in New York? Lower East Side and Harlem.

Favorite street to stroll? East 6th street.

Why? I love the shops, restaurants, People’s Park and three old synagogues.

Favorite restaurant? Arté on 9th street.

Favorite bar? Algonquin Hotel.

Hidden gem? I love going to the African market on east 114th street. In the late afternoon you can experience people leaving their stalls, and put these fantastic rugs down to pray. Suddenly you have this magical atmosphere.

How to be(come) a New Yorker? Be so outrageously yourself here, be so totally yourself and walk everywhere.

Your New York soundtrack? I love Three Little Birds by Bob Marley. It makes me think about walkabouts in Manhattan.

Can we come visit you? Sure. (watch a 3 minute video interview quotedmagazine.com/laura)

5 THINGS THAT TELL A STORY ABOUT LAURA

BIRD ON TURTLE “My father brought this back from Japan after Second World War. It was part of a temple. It reminds me of the best part of my father, and represents longevity.”

VOODOO OBJECT “I have great regard for vodun and got these from a voodoo priest in Haiti. I love Haiti and worked there for over seven years.”

MOTHER TARA “Female Buddha of compassion who can be called on at any moment. I’ve studied meditation for the last 37 years. I practise it and I teach it.”

WHALEBONE “Someone gave this to me when I was telling stories in Alaska. It’s made from whalebone. I travel all over the world to tell stories. I want to have people who are really different, all imagining the same story differently and being able to feel that part of themselves that is connected beneath all their opinions and speed.”

JOURNAL “I really love this. I choose a book that feels just right. I write in it all the time and take note of things. Sometimes notes on stories, quotes, dreams or if I’m giving a talk. It’s the way I keep things.”