Listening In My Backyard By Okun, Rita Wolf

This has been the most exhilarating, challenging, and enlightening assignment I have ever undertaken. For this assignment, I chose to listen to two podcasts from Symphony Space's Selected Shorts that featured topics that intrigued me, "The private paradise" podcast from April 17, 2011 and the "Tale of terror" podcast from March 20, 2011. The stories in "The private paradise" podcast that I listened to included Sonia Manzano's performance of “My Backyard ” by Peter Lu, Rita Wolf's performance of “A Room of My Own” by Alanna Okun, David Rakoff's performance of “Your Mother and I” by Dave Eggers, and James Naughton's performance of “Visit” by Barry Yourgrau. The "Tale of terror" podcast only included one story, Boyd Gaines's performance of “The

I never realized that there was a difference between hearing and listening before. Now that I understand this difference, I can begin working on improving my listening skills. I am currently a librarian assistant at the adult reference desk of a public library, and I have noticed that I tend to misunderstand patrons' information needs, even after a lengthy reference interview. By working on my listening skills, I will be able to assist library patrons much more effectively and efficiently since I will be able to focus better and be able to better understand their questions. This was a very important lesson for me to learn, because becoming a more effective listener will assist me with my current position, my future position as a librarian, and even my interpersonal

The stories I listened to have a made a lasting impression on me, and I continue to reflect on these stories days later, something I have never done with books. The lessons I have learned from learning to appreciate the listening process will also stay with me. I believe that this is the first time I have truly listened, and doing so has allowed me to think and react in a manner that I never have before. This is one experience that I will never forget.

Works Cited

Kuyvenhoven, J. (2007). "What happens inside your head when you are listening to a story?" Children talk about their experience during a storytelling. Storytelling, Self, Society, 3(2), 95-114.

Public International Radio. (2011, April 17). The private paradise. Selected Shorts Podcast. Podcast retrieved from http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510202

Public International Radio. (2011, March 20). Tale of terror. Selected Shorts Podcast. Podcast retrieved from http://www.npr.org/rss/podcast.php?id=510202

Sturm, B. W. (1999). The enchanted imagination: Storytelling's power to entrance listeners. School Library Media Research,