Barbara Blackhurst

Barbara Blackhurst is the mother of twelve children. She has written one novel-length fairy tale called The Star Queen’s Child, another autobiographical novel called Getting Down to Bessie and three books of poetry, including one book of children’s poetry, called Grandpa’s Easter Tales and Other Stories. She began her storytelling career by memorizing children’s poems to tell to her children. This lead to her writing her own stories to fit into the holiday curriculum of most schools. These stories include Tales From a Shallow Grave, Grandpa’s Easter Tales and a thanksgiving tale calledThe Schlossips of Glossip about people who ending up giving thanks only after they discover what is in other people’s bags of troubles. The Miracle of the Gulls, I Danced My Way to Zion, and In the Eye of the Storm, are three of Barbara’s favorite pioneer stories. Her patriotic tales include The Ballad of Michael Christian, from the Viet Nam War, Taps from the Civil War, and A Private Victory in France from WWII. Barbara is a recluse who loves to sit at her computer and fantasize, only emerging from her fortress of solitude long enough to dazzle audiences with her performances. The lyrical cadence of Barbara’s poetic tales lends itself perfectly to the strains of a violin. Performing with Barbara on the violin is Nola VanWagenen, a violinist of amazing talent with an ear for just the right music to provide underlying accompaniment. With Barbara’s gift to write and Nola’s ability to make the violin an extension of her own spirit, each performance is a celebration, not only of words, but also of music. Under the title of Sanctuary, the name of their performing group, Nola and Barbara have provided entertainment for dinner groups, school classrooms, literary clubs, and church groups. They are two halves which make a whole, the warp and the woof of a unique tapestry of unforgettable tales.