Dr. Raouf Mama
Eastern Connecticut State University
83 Windham, Willimantic, CT 06226
Phone Office 860 465 4549
Cell 860 208 6364
Dr. Raouf Mama is an internationally known bilingual storyteller, the only one in the world today who performs in English and French indigenous tales from his native Benin, a French-speaking country in West Africa. Drawn from one of the richest oral traditions in Africa, Mama’s stories have strong connections to African cultures on both sides of the Atlantic. His first book, Why Goats Smell Bad and Other Stories from Benin, was published in February 1998 to critical acclaim. Kirkus Reviews described it as “a wide-ranging collection from an understudied tradition.” Booklist praised it as “a rich, varied source of lively tales for children and storytellers to enjoy;” and The School Library Journal hailed it as “a fascinating collection of 20 traditional folktales that make the Fon culture come alive… an important contribution to folklore scholarship.” Why Goats Smell Bad and Other Stories From Benin has won a Storytelling World award for the story: “How Hare Drank Boiling Water and Married the Beautiful Princess”
Raouf recently concluded a visit to Benin during which he worked with local English teachers, Peace Corps Volunteers, and children in Abomey, Ouidah, Lokossa, Parakou, Cotonou, and SOS Children's Village on using story-telling as a teaching and motivational tool. The teachers' evaluations and comments were uniformly enthusiastic: "I can return proudly to my school and share with my students," "We have seen the magic and strength of stories," "The goal of a teacher is the same as that of a story teller, to instruct, entertain, and inspire," "When a students is inspired, he can do his best to succeed," and "Sincerely, I'm delighted." Teachers also expressed the wish that Mr. Mama's presentations be recorded and distributed on video and printed in a book to reach more teachers nationwide.
Dr. Mama’s second book, The Barefoot Book of Tropical Tales, was published in February 2000 in Britain. Booklist has described it as a book “rich in humor, sorrow, and thought-provoking plot turns.” ZIPIDEE.COM praised it as “a delightful collection of folk tales” that is “as much fun to look at as it is to read” and concluded: “Always entertaining and often enlightening, this collection of folktales will make a wonderful addition to any child’s library.” The Bank Street School of Education rated it one of the best children’s books of the year. Mama’s third Book, Pearls of Wisdom, was published in February 2001. His fourth book, Why Monkeys Live In Trees and Other Trickster and Sacred Tales from Benin is due for publication by Curbstone Press in Fall 2005. At the March 2003 International TESOL convention in Baltimore, Dr Mama was given a standing ovation by an audience of more than 1500 people for his plenary address “Why Mankind Has Two Ears And One Mouth.” That address
is now available on CD along with a selection of powerful stories
and poems.
Dr. Mama is the recipient of two Connecticut State University Excellence Awards, a Greater Hartford Arts Council Individual Artist Award and an artist fellowship from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, which has also awarded him the title of Master Teaching Artist. In December 2003 Dr Mama got a Distinguished Immigrant Award. He performs African and multicultural stories, blending storytelling with poetry, song, music, and dance. An orator out of the African oral tradition, he has been a keynote speaker at literary award ceremonies and fundraisers as well as plenary speaker at international and regional conferences. He performs African and multicultural stories, lectures on the connection between African literature and African folklore and conducts workshops on storytelling and creative writing, and the power of folktales as multicultural teaching and learning tools, especially as tools for teaching literacy skills, creative writing, and public speaking.
A graduate of the University of Michigan with an M.A and a Ph. D in English,
Dr. Mama is fluent in English, French, Fon, and Yoruba and proficient in Spanish
and German. He teaches English at Eastern
Connecticut State University.