TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Irish storyteller Bartholomew “Batt” Burns will present the 2003 James P. Curtis Distinguished Lecture at The University of Alabama on Tuesday, March 25, at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Sheraton Four Points Hotel ballroom. His topic will be “Ireland’s Oral Tradition as a Dynamic Teaching Tool.”

A reception, immediately following the lecture, will feature Henri’s Notions, the South’s premier Celtic band.

Burns, an award-winning storyteller, author, and teacher from Ireland, will speak to the importance of storytelling to children. As an elementary school teacher and then a principal, Burns’ experiments with teaching through stories convinced him that storytelling can be a powerful pedagogical tool.

In a dramatic presentation that will be part lecture and part performance, Burns will give his audience a rich insight into the great Irish tradition of storytelling and verse. His performance, laced with Irish wit and humor, draws upon the works of famous Irish writers such as W.B. Yeats, Brendan Kenneally, Frank O’Connor and Bryan McMahon.

This presentation is sponsored by the UA College of Education in conjunction with its alumni association, the Capstone College of Education Society. Admission is free and the general public is invited to attend.

For more information, contact at Alexia M. Kartis, Capstone College of Education Society Director, at 205/348-6881.