EDWARDSVILLE - SIUE’s Lovejoy Library will host an Emmy Award-winning storyteller.
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From 1–2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, students and community members are invited to Lovejoy Library to hear from Bobby Norfolk, a speaker, author, storyteller and teaching artist. Norfolk will be sharing stories about Kwanzaa and African folklore at this free event.
“Bobby is a great storyteller, and he infuses history into his storytelling,” explained Simone Williams, Diversity and Engagement Librarian and an assistant professor at Lovejoy Library. “He’s a great educator who can tap into different learning styles and engage the audience.”
Norfolk’s presentation is part of Lovejoy Library’s mission to celebrate holiday traditions from around the world. Williams explained that the library hopes to connect students and community members by educating them about different cultures and experiences.
This connection is an important part of what Williams does at Lovejoy Library. She noted that she aims to engage SIUE with the off-campus community through events like this.
“I just think it’s a way for me to relate the work that we do on campus with the outside community, and also just ways of expressing different ways of learning,” she said. “I don’t believe that there’s one way to learn, even though we’re in an academic setting. You can take bits and pieces from these different storytellers and apply it to your life. They’re teaching you history. They’re teaching you different aspects of their culture. It’s just not confined to certain areas of expertise.”
Williams has listened to Norfolk speak at other storytelling festivals in the region, and she is excited to bring him to campus. She added that Norfolk has ties to the university, and several faculty members have used his work to teach their students about African culture and folklore.
She hopes to see a large turnout at the presentation on Dec. 3, and she reminds students and community members that the event is completely free.
“Keep up with supporting these people when they’re outside of campus,” Williams added. “This is also my way of bridging the gap between St. Louis or Missouri and Illinois because a lot of these people are in St. Louis and they come here…We get to start having cross-cultural exchanges on both sides of the river.”
For more information about Norfolk’s presentation and other events at Lovejoy Library, visit the official SIUE Lovejoy Library Facebook page.
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