Storyteller

Author, translator, award-winning recording artist, lecturer and master storyteller, Roslyn Bresnick-Perry possesses a unique perspective and voice that she shares with diverse audiences in venues large and small. Whether at home in New York, Florida, or anywhere in the world, Roslyn speaks with authority. She is funny, articulate and passionate. Her stories span decades of the twentieth century and great distances, from a Belarus shtetl in pre-Holocaust Europe where she spent her childhood, through immigration, to post-war New York City, and her years in the garment industry as a senior designer. From Havana to Minneapolis and from Toronto to Tennessee, Roslyn breaks down preconceptions and prejudices. She celebrates connections and diversity in both her writings and her oral storytelling.  Roslyn holds a special place in the world of Jewish storytelling culture, yet her work around the country and beyond makes her a significant figure for all people.

Roslyn is a recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Storytelling Network.

 She was awarded the Premio A La Mejor Contadora Extrajera  as the outstanding foreign storyteller  of the Havana, Cuba, International Festival.

Roslyn was a featured performer at the National Storytelling festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. She has appeared at the  Victory Theatre on Broadway, represented New York City at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and told stories at the Library of Congress. She has participated in many outstanding events and venues throughout the U.S., and Canada, and she has contributed to many anthologies. 

Scholarship and Professional  Experience

Masters in Cultural History - New York University, 1982, magna cum laude
Bachelor of Arts in Social Studies - Fordham University, 1978, summa cum laude
 
Oral History courses - Jewish Research Institute (YIVO), Stern College, Hebrew Union College
Storytelling - Yeshiva University

Roslyn taught Eastern European life, Jewish History and Jewish storytelling classes at:
Queens College
New York University
Syracuse University
University of Arizona
Elderhostels
92nd Street YMHA in New York City 
The West End Yiddish School sponsored by the Workmen's Circle/Arbiter Ring
Roslyn has over 35 years of professional storytelling experience.