Alton Chung
Award-Winning Master Storyteller & Performer
Cultural Tales • Historical Accounts • Personal Narratives
Jim has submitted stories on a regular basis to THE STORY BEAST for consideration and I have also heard him tell stories over Zoom at various storyteller gatherings. Jim enjoys telling historical tales and with his wry sense of humor, he can take you on a jaunt into the past making everything come alive. His meticulous research and attention to detail allows you to ride along with a legendary stagecoach driver, be in the courtroom as the woman who created the first paper bag making machine fights for her patent, or experience the heat from the blast furnace as a veteran of the steel works saves a green kid from falling into a vat of molten metal. Jim has a knack for discovering unusual and obscure stories and making them entertaining and educational.
Fran Stallings
Professional Storyteller, Author & Biologist
The Earthteller: Bridging Science, STEM, and Oral Lore
When Jim Kissane spins stories, you’ll feel you’re back at the feet of your favorite uncle hearing about things that happened before your time. History comes alive on his lips. Railroads, automobiles, and other inventions; saints and moonshiners, oil wildcatters and banana tycoons come to life in his carefully researched stories, told with sly humor and warm compassion. Jim puts the Story back into hiSTORY. And he can tell some personal yarns too!
Bruce Marcus
Award-Winning Master Storyteller & Creative Emcee
Feature Coordinator & Host, Northeast Storytelling Committee
Jim Kissane tells true-life stories, some personal, but most wrought from America’s industrial past. I have had the pleasure of hearing Jim ply his craft on many a Zoom storytelling session and find his offerings unerringly well-researched, well-crafted, and well-delivered. He must be either the only or one of the very few storytellers illuminating this colorful, fascinating Industrial Revolution chapter of our nation’s history, and he does so with a passion for his subject, a keen eye always for the human aspect, and a voice that is at once authoritative and delightfully engaging. I heartily recommend Jim for any festival or other feature spot – in fact, as feature coordinator for weekly storytelling series The Story Space, I am currently endeavoring to book him myself!
Vicki Ness
Storyteller & Speaker
Workshops • Festivals • Cultural Events
I have loved Jim Kissane’s stories and storytelling talents for years. He manages to create compelling tales of often forgotten historical events, stitching all the details together with little glimpses into the hearts and souls of those involved. It’s very like a patchwork quilt that looks fascinating up close, but then he shifts our gaze toward the end of the story to reveal a larger pattern of the dreams, longings, and unexpected courage common to us all. Sometimes personal, sometimes humorous, his stories always leave the listener with renewed respect for “us”. All of us.
Ken Oguss Storytelling-CREATIVE!™
Professional Storyteller
Storytelling Coach, Teacher, and Consultant.
Since the early days of the pandemic I have heard Jim Kissane tell stories on Zoom. Upon first hearing I was struck with his vocal stage presence, that is, he sounded like the popular radio personality Paul Harvey, who ended his programs with, “And now you know… the rest of the story.” Indeed, Jim has a wonderful voice that pulls you into the story. And like Paul Harvey, Jim has a talent and a passion for researching and telling stories about our country’s history that make you want to know more. Jim will often entice his audience to wonder what industry or invention is about to appear in his stories about people who were instrumental in making the modern world. Jim is not only a natural teacher of history, but he has also developed stories about his own life experiences that demonstrate his keen powers of observation and compassion.
Rona Barbour
International Lecturer on Applied Narrative & Accredited Pedagogy Tutor
Former Board Director, Society for Storytelling
I have known Jim Kissane, the Historian, author, and storyteller, for many years. He is a regular contributor to my “Headliners,” a weekly Zoom meeting that attracts authors, storytellers, poets and musicians from all over the world. Jim is a big favourite and never fails to please. He obviously researches his subjects and knows them well; he could make a telephone booth sound like the most interesting thing you’ve ever heard of. His range of stories is remarkable, often humorous, and his delivery is sharp as he keeps his audience engaged throughout. I would not hesitate to recommend Jim Kissane for anything that required the talents of a professional storyteller. I wish him the very best in his endeavours to spread storytelling far and wide as he does it so well.
Jane Dorfman
Master Storyteller, Educator, & Literary Historian
President, Voices-in-the-Glen Storytelling Guild
One of the good things to come out of Covid was getting introduced to Jim Kissane. I’ve heard him tell many stories online, and there was not one I didn’t enjoy and learn from. He tells well-researched factual stories, ones about early industry in the U.S., and forgotten parts of our past, as well as a few personal tales. He is clear and engaging and often funny. I do not see anyone else telling the kinds of stories he does and I would think he would be appealing to any audience.
Elinor Benjamin
Past-President, Storytellers of Canada – Conteurs du Canada
My ears perk up whenever I see Jim Kissane’s cheerful face pop up on a ZOOM screen at an open mic. I know I will 1) learn something I didn’t know, 2) be thoroughly engaged and entertained in the process, and 3) be filled with admiration at how well he puts a story together. I know him only through ZOOM sessions. Sadly, I am probably too far away ever to see him “live”, but I am sure he would be just as charming in person.