Per Kol HaNeshamah, their next “FRED Talk”:

Essayist, poet and award-winning storyteller Merna Ann Hecht will share an evening of Jewish stories taken from the treasure troves of both Eastern European and Sephardic tradition, Saturday evening, Dec. 12, beginning at 8 pm at West Seattle’s Kol HaNeshamah progressive reform synagogue community.

Listen to Hecht as she draws from Jewish tales of wisdom, stories of the great teaching rabbis and Hanukkah lore. This lively evening is slated for listeners ages nine to 99.

“In our digital age, storytelling transports us back to a slower, gentler time,” Hecht says. “The stories I will share are a celebration of the light and hope of Hanukkah, and speak to the love of storytelling that is woven into Jewish history and tradition.”

Hecht, the recipient of the 2008 National Storytelling Network Brimstone Award for Applied Storytelling, is also the founder and co-director of the Stories of Arrival: Refugee and Immigrant Youth Voices Poetry project at Foster High School in Tukwila, WA. She teaches creative writing, humanities and social justice courses for the University of WA, Tacoma.

Hecht is part of an ongoing series of FRED or Fresh Relevant Educational and Dynamic talks at Kol HaNeshamah, 6115 SW Hinds in West Seattle. The talks feature members from the progressive synagogue who share topics or skills they have with the community.

The suggested donation for the evening is $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and students. FRED Talks series is part of Kol HaNeshamah’s Annual Giving Campaign. KHN is a registered 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization.

For information contact Sheila Abrahams at info@khnseattle.org or 206-935-1590.

Who doesn’t love a good story!