FOR the first time in history, a written document detailing Bermuda's folktales has been put to paper for all Bermudians to enjoy for generations to come. Researched, written and told by beloved storyteller Florenz Webbe Maxwell, this body of work vividly portrays Bermuda's long-standing traditions, customs, beliefs and culture. Published by the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs and illustrated by artist Al Seymour Sr., The Spirit Baby & Other Bermudian Folktakes, imparts lessons from the past and celebrates a shared culture that is unique to this island. Author Mrs. Maxwell sat down with Mid-Ocean News reporter Lindsay Kelly and photographer Akil Simmons to discuss her new book, the importance of folklore and how reading and writing can capture the imagination.

Q. What is the difference between folktales and typical stories?

A. Folktales are stories that were orally handed down from generation to generation. Only recently have they been written down. Folktales were told by the folks to the folks. Folklore encompasses everything from customs, cultures, beliefs and superstitions, such as never walking underneath a ladder. One of Bermuda's folk beliefs is that you never turn a window into a door because it will bring bad luck. Another one is that a bride should never cross a funeral. All of these superstitions are part of folklore.

Q. Why are they so important to keep 'alive'?

A. There is something about us as humans in that we like a story. We understand a story. A story hangs on a lot longer than just an ordinary fact. For example, whenever Jesus wanted to make a point in the Bible, he told a parable. Parables are more or less the name for the stories that Jesus told. They are told in terms of what the people understood - if Jesus was speaking to farmers for example, he told the story about the Sower and the Seed. He spoke to people in terms of what they could understand to get the message across. Through the years, we have followed that example. People tell stories so people could understand a message. Throughout history people learned how to conduct themselves through folktales.

Q. Tell me about the history of The Spirit Baby & Other Bermudian Folktales.

A. The book goes back to the 1970s when I was studying for my Masters Degree in Library Service at Atlanta University. I was in a class that studied ethnic materials for children and young adults and the professor, Dr. Joyce Mills, asked us to find a folktale about the area that we were from. I was the only foreigner at the time in the class. Most of the other students were Americans from various parts of the country. I was fascinated that they could come up with folktales yet I could not. I thought to myself, "this is ridiculous, I don't know any folktales outside of the European ones." I couldn't come up with one Bermudian folktale, which really bothered me. I went to the professor and told her my dilemma and together we went to speak with Dr. Richard Long, who was a folklorist on campus. I was allowed to sit in on his classes to learn about folktales, motifs and all of the background work needed to find a Bermudian folktale. He suggested that I go back to Bermuda and interview the elderly. He gave me guidelines on what to do, the questions to ask to draw out any folktales. After returning to Atlanta University with my tapes I was very upset. There was not one folktale on my tapes. I told Dr. Long that there was no "once upon a time" here. He went through all the tapes and listened to all the beliefs and customs people discussed on the tapes and he said to me, "you've got folklore".

Q. You wrote your thesis on folklore?

A. Yes, I ended up doing my thesis on folkore. I was given special permission to do a thesis because at that time the Department of Library Sciences was not encouraging students to write a thesis. I was the only one that year that was given permission to do so. When I was going through my interview tapes more in depth, I found that I had ingredients for folktales but no complete tale aside from perhaps one. Some people would just give me a sentence that would be an ingredient for a folktale.

Q. Can you give me an example?

A. Martha's curse for example. This is a phrase that came from a story about a coloured woman by the name of Martha. She made such delicious coconut cakes and wanted to enter them into the Agricultural Exhibition held each year in April. She was denied entrance because Bermuda was segregated at the time. Martha became very angry and cursed the Exhibition saying that from now on it will rain every year on the Exhibition. And even up until today, it still rains on the day of the Exhibition. (According to the Reference Section of Mrs. Maxwell's book, there have been several years that rain has fallen on the Exhibition, and the 1936 and 1974 Exhibitions were "totally rained out".) Bermudians, to this day, still refer to this occurrence as "Martha's Curse".

Q. When did you decide to turn your collection into a book?

A. I've been telling these stories for years - and everyone was always asking me "why don't you put them together into a book?" The Folklore Officer of the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Dr. Kim Dismont Robinson, approached me and said that she would like to have a collection of the folktales. What was interesting was that I found that it is very different verbally telling a story than writing it. It's much more difficult to write. When I orally tell a story, I use my hands, eyes and arms to express the physical energy of the story. To write a story - I only had words. The words needed to come to life and that was the challenge. Words are flat and it is what you do with words that bring life to them. I had to find and hear my voice and practically see myself telling the story.

Q. Is there a story that you consider to be the most interesting?

A. There is a story that I consider to be my most valuable story and that is Counting Out the People. It begins with two fishermen who after returning from fishing took shelter in the Pembroke graveyard due to torrential rain. As they were counting out their fish, someone overheard them saying "one for you, one for me" which they mistook for God and the devil counting out the souls. After researching this a bit further I found that this story or anecdote was actually derived from Africa. It is a variant of "The Talking Skull", a folktale found in various parts of Africa that was taken to the United States during the era of the slave trade. By the time it got to Bermuda, the protagonists had changed but the theme had remained. Because I can trace this folktale's roots, it is the most precious one to me.

Q. Why did you choose Al Seymour Sr. to illustrate the book?

A. Al Seymour Sr. went to Central, now Victor Scott Primary, around the time I was there. I can remember him as a student drawing and sketching. I remember that around Christmas time he would decorate the blackboards in every classroom and we would go to school and look at his exhibition. He was really good. We were both in the same house, Watlington House, and when we competed against the other 'houses' in all sorts of activities, including writing, speaking, sketch art and the like, no one wanted to compete against Al Seymour. I asked him to do the illustrations for the book because we had a shared history at Central. That was a connecting point for me.

Q. How long were you the Head of Children Services for the Bermuda National Library?

A. I was the Head of Children Services of the Bermuda National Library for 27 years and eight months.

Q. Is that were you honed your skills as a storyteller?

A. Yes, but I've been telling stories for a very long time. I told stories all the time to my two sons as they were growing up.

Q. What is the most interesting story-telling session you've had?

A. One of the most interesting story-telling sessions I've had was at Westgate three or four years ago. I was late because I missed the bus and when I got there I walked onto the premises, no one was in sight. I was petrified. I walked to the gate and walked back several times. After what seemed like my 100th attempt to go up to the front door, a voice said in a deep voice "press the button and come in". I thought I was going to have a heart attack! Then the deep voice said: "come up the steps". So I went up the steps and at the top there was a guard who was beside himself laughing. He was watching me the whole time! I will never forget that. By the time I got in all the men were seated and when it was announced I was going to tell them a story, it was not received with any enthusiasm. They were all making wise cracks. I asked how many people were from Somerset and a couple hands went up and then I asked how many were from Baileys Bay and another couple hands went up. I wanted to do this because the story was going to be about those two areas. And, when I got into the story they went from wise cracking to completely enthralled. There was not a sound from them. After I was done they said "another one, another one"! The guard with the deep voice was also sitting at the back of the room and the person who had invited me there said they he had never stayed to listen to one of her sessions. I'll never forget that experience. Getting there in itself was an experience! The lesson I learned from that was that a folktale from your area, region or country is important because people can identify with it. Those inmates were able to identify with the places in the story. Stories bring people together - they let you know you have a culture.

Q. When did you start writing?

A. I was always encouraged to write when I was growing up. My mother encouraged me. It started with the book Bobbsey Twins when I was about eight or nine years old. I could not put those books down because of the adventures but I was angry about the portrayal of two characters in the book.

In the book, the cook and the maid, who were both black, spoke and acted unintelligently. It bothered me because in my life, you never came across those people. So I would go home and complain all the time about these characters asking my mother why did they have these characters talking and acting like that? We don't talk and act like that! My mother who got really tired of my complaining said: "Listen, you write your own stories and you can have people acting and speaking like you want them to."

I took her seriously. So I started writing stories where all the characters were black and they were doing the things I was doing. My classmates would nag me for stories so I would get those exercise booklets and spend all of my time writing chapters of stories.

Q. If there is one piece of advice you could give young people, what would that be?

A. Read. Do a lot of reading. The computer is ok but books have the magic touch to helping you overcome problems. You have to start reading very young. It's habit forming. You become addicted. It helps your speech, your writing more so than television. Keep a journal. I keep two journals - a prayer journal and an ordinary journal and I write what happens to me everyday.

The Spirit Baby & Other Bermudian Folktales is available for sale at bookstores and other outlets (Robertson's Drugstore, People's Pharmacy, Whites and Caeser's Pharmacy) on the island as well as at the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs (81 Court Street). The retail cost is $20.