First published in 1997, this volume takes a dive into methods of teenage storytelling, including questions of believability, fashionability, rebellious spirit, the supernatural, personal narratives and riddles, along with an archive of texts collected by the author intended to illuminate and inform the analysis.
Part 1. Introduction. 1. Definitions, Parameters and Methodologies. Part 2. Issues. 2. Aspects of Performance in Teenage Storytelling. 3. 'The Hook', 'The Mad Axeman' and 'The Licked Hand': Studies in Believability, Fashionability and Popular Circulation. 4. The Rebellious Spirit: Subversion Through Violence and the Supernatural. 5. The Rôle of Other Media in the Creation, Maintenance and Development of Teenage Oral Narrative Traditions. Part 3. The Stories. 6. The Glutton's Errand: a Structural Analysis of 'Johnny, I Want My Liver Back!'. 7. 'The Singing Bone': a Traditional Tale in a Modern Context. 8. Personal Narratives in the Teenage Repertoire. 9. Riddles and the Riddling Process.