Booth’s storytelling blends traditional folklore, music, and an awareness of contemporary Appalachia. His original cinematic style is both humorous and touching, and is influenced by generations of diverse storytellers from West Virginia.
His storytelling appearances have included Teller-In-Residence at the International Storytelling Center (three times), New Voice at the National Storytelling Festival, and resident at the Banff (Alberta, Canada) Spoken Word program. He’s also done collaborations with the West Virginia Dance Company, Goose Route Dance Company, Frederick Chorale and Hagerstown Choral Arts Society.
Booth finds his passion not just in storytelling, but in educating students on storytelling as well. Victoria Endres, a Yeager Scholar and a Literary Studies and Creative Writing major, helped bring Booth to campus. She says Booth’s stories are more than entertainment.
“They are little bits of history,” Endres said. “They teach us about our own world and how we see it and interact with it.”
She says the fact that Booth is an Appalachian native gives him a unique ability to tell stories that involve the region.
“He does an amazing job of threading beautiful stories that illustrate the power and significance of our past,” she said. “His stories are a great opportunity to experience an Appalachian tradition in a way that makes you forget you’re hearing a performance.”
Booth’s research and presentations have led him to the Berea Appalachian Sound Archives Fellowship, the National Academy of Medicine, Ghost Ranch, the National Storytelling Conference, the Appalachian Students Association Conference and the National Endowment for the Humanities Voices from the Misty Mountains summer seminars and institute.
Booth is a member of the Recording Academy. He teaches Appalachian studies at Shepherd University and is the founding director of the Speak Story Series.
Booth says he’s most at home sharing stories and music with the next generation of listeners and storytellers throughout Appalachia.
This year’s Yeager Symposium was organized by the Dr. Daniel Babb Class of 2019 and is sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. Kenneth Wolfe and the St. Mary’s Medical Center.