In the April/May 2012 issue of Storytelling World magazine: the announcement of the Honor given to Immortal Mullah Nasruddin, and the front cover art at the top of the page!
Thanks to Ann Shapiro from the Connecticut Storytelling Center for sending a copy of the magazine!
Acknowledgments
I am indebted to Robert M. Alter, who nearly two decades ago prophesied that a collection of crazy wisdom stories of the inscrutable Mullah was in my destiny.
“Story is the ship we sail across time,” Ursula LeGuin is quoted as saying. This project has been immeasurably enriched by my affiliation with the Connecticut Storytelling Center, whose director Ann Shapiro welcomed me to discover its storytellers and to share its outstanding folkloric resources.
Parts of the Foreword and Introduction were included in my article, “Nasruddin at 800,” published 2008 in Hearsay, the CSC newsletter. Learn more about the art of storytelling at the CSC website, <www.connstorycenter.org>.
In supporting the genesis of this project, many people have provided much-needed dabs of ammonia on the rear end of Nasruddin and his little grey donkey to propel them forward into existence in this collection. For their spark and spunk, I thank:
publisher Steve Berman, of Lethe Press
Steve Bhaerman, a.k.a. “Swami Beyondananda”
designer Toby Johnson
illustrator Sgott MacKenzie
Ralph Seligman, who copyedited the book
Oğuzhan “Ozzie” Özkan; Mehmet Ali, of Bears of Turkey; Cenk Uygur, of The Young Turks
Diane Edgecomb, Peg Donovan
Rev. Mike J. Ader
Dave O’Neal, Kendra Crossen Burroughs, Jonathan Green, Peter Turner, and Sam Bercholz of Shambhala Publications
Jeff Shaumeyer and Isaac Borocz
Thomas Cornick
Jerry L. Wheeler, Dale Chase, William Holden, and Wayne Courtois
Stephan Niederwieser, Felice Picano, Robert H. Hopcke, P.J. Willis, S. Harrington, Todd Smith
the staff of my auxiliary “offices” at Bean & Leaf, and Muddy Waters cafés in New London
Joe Maulucci, webbear
Carol Karuna Lane, Sharon Kumuda Janis, David M. Keepnews, and Sw. Anantananda
Daniel M. Jaffe
and Meir D. Amiel, Esq.
Ultimately, this work never could have been realized without the enduring support from my loving husband, Rocco.
Ti voglio bene assai.
RJS
New London, Connecticut
July 2010
Collected and retold by Ron J. Suresha
With a Preface by Ann Shapiro
Director, Connecticut Storytelling Center
Nasruddin and his donkey ride again — in this inspired new collection of his crazy wisdom stories!
Once, when the young fool Nasruddin was acting up in class by distracting his classmates with endless antics, jokes, and stories, his irate teacher uttered a curse:
“Whatever you do or say,
wherever you go or stay,
whether it’s night or day —
people will only laugh at you.”
Now, eight centuries later, people everywhere are still laughing at the immortal Mullah Nasruddin, one of the world’s most beloved folk characters.
This entertaining and insightful retelling of the Nasruddin corpus brings the beloved Persian folk hero into the 21st Century. With more than 350 of the most popular Nasruddin stories collected from dozens of sources by noted anthologist and lifelong Nasruddin devotee Ron J. Suresha, this collection gathers the most beloved and meaningful tales of Mullah Nasruddin wit and wisdom. Storytellers, folklorists, Sufis, Young Turks, comedians, spiritual seekers, and everyone who loves to laugh will be enriched and enlightened by the Mullah’s uncommon sense of humor.
The original cover watercolor of Mullah Nasruddin and his donkey was rendered by Sgott MacKenzie.
Lethe Press, January 2011 • 232 pp. • Includes glossary and bibliography
ISBN-10: 1-59021-175-8 • ISBN-13: 978-1-59021-175-5 • Price: $18.00 USD
Categories: Humor / Folklore / World Literature
Distributed in print by: ASP, Baker & Taylor, Ingram
Also available for Kindle, iBook, and all electronic-book formats
For more information, and to order:
email nasruddinbook[AT]gmail [DOT]com
or go to http://www.MullahNasruddin.com or http://www.LethePressBooks.com
Bear Bones Books is pleased to announce the pending release of the redesigned edition of The Uncommon Sense of the Immortal Mullah Nasruddin: Stories, jests, and donkey tales of the beloved Persian folk hero, collected & retold by Ron J. Suresha.
“The author’s roundup is exhaustive, perhaps one of the most honest of all English collections that have been published as popular Mullah Nasruddin literature.”
Nasreddin Hoca ordered a new shirt from Hussein the tailor, and when it was ready, he went to the tailor’s shop to pick it up.
After Nasreddin paid for the shirt, he decided to shop for some new pants. He chose a nice pair of baggy pants and tried them on, and the two bargained and agreed on a price.
Bear Bones Books announces the publication of a new collection of the most popular Nasreddin Hoca folk tales and jokes, in multiple formats on several platforms available everywhere. 100+ Favourite Tales of Nasreddin Hoca Favourite Tales of Nasreddin Hoca Favorite Stories of Mullah Nasruddin Treasured, oft-told stories of the famous funny folk hero by Ron[…]
Young Nasruddin was passing a vineyard and was very thirsty, so he jumped the fence and began to pull down and gobble the luscious grapes. But Bekri, the owner, spotted him and yelled…
The three men bought the mat and the other two bought the blanket.
Nasruddin stretched out in the center of the mat and promptly fell asleep.
Both of Ron J. Suresha’s acclaimed Mullah Nasruddin story collections are now available in hardcover!
Estas dos aclamadas colecciones de historias de Nasruddin ahora están disponibles en español. Both acclaimed collections of Nasruddin stories are now available in Spanish from Bear Bones Books / Babelcube. ~ El sentido poco común del inmortal mulá Nasrudín Historias, bromas y cuentos de burros del querido héroe popular persa por Ron J. Suresha Traducido[…]
100+ Favourite Tales of Nasreddin Hoca: Treasured, oft-told stories of the famous funny folk hero Collected and retold by Ron J. Suresha Published by Bear Bones Books. ~Now available from Barnes & Noble! Get the softcover edition here. Get the digital edition here. ~Nasreddin Hoca, the eight-centuries-old “wise fool” character originating from Turkey and the[…]
Announcing the new Revised Edition of the acclaimed authentic story collection! Extraordinary Adventures of Mullah Nasruddin Order the book now from Amazon here. Order the ebook from Amazon Kindle here. HONORS ~ Lambda Literary Awards, Finalist ~ Rainbow Book Awards, Honorable Mention ~ This acclaimed folklore collection details the escapades and exploits of the beloved 800-year-old[…]