John Row (born 1947) is an English storyteller and

public speaker Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...

Early life and education

Row was born in

Barking, London Barking is a riverside town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It is east of Charing Cross. The total population of Barking was 59,068 at the 2011 census.If defined as the Abbey, Eastbury, Gascoigne, L ...

, and grew up in

Harlow Harlow is a town and local government district located in the west of Essex, England. Founded as a Planned community, new town in 1947, it is situated on the border with Hertfordshire, and occupies a large area of land on the south bank of the ...

. He has a degree from the

University of East Anglia The University of East Anglia (UEA) is a Public university, public research university in Norwich, England. Established in 1963 on a campus university, campus west of the city centre, the university has four faculties and twenty-six schools of ...

in American studies.

Career

John Row tours schools around the world and other institutions such as prisons. He has been a presence in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

where he has performed in detention centres for the young inmates. He was the first storyteller in residence in a British prison. He is the artistic director of the International Storytelling Festival that is celebrated every 2 years in

Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

. The festival set a Guinness World Record with 120 hours of continuous non-stop storytelling in 2025. He has performed at festivals in the UK, and has a weekly radio show on

Ipswich Community Radio Ipswich Community Radio (ICR FM) is a community radio station in Ipswich, Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the sou ...

. He is a contributor to ''On Track'', a magazine for rail travellers in the Southern Region. With singer/songwriter Paddy Stratton he is one half of 'Serious Times', a touring music and poetry show. Performing in the 1960s, he joined up with Graham Flight from the Canterbury band 'Wild Flowers', which spawned both 'Soft Machine' and 'Caravan'. In the 1970s he toured with

Nick Toczek Nick Toczek (born 20 September 1950; Shipley, England) is a British writer and performer working variously as poet, journalist, magician, vocalist, lyricist and radio broadcaster. He was raised in Bradford and then took a degree in Industrial M ...

in 'Stereo Graffiti' and in the 1980s and early 1990s with 'Sound Proposition' an anarchic combination of free form jazz, funk and poetry which toured East Germany in the last weeks of its existence. His book of poems for children, ''The Pong Machine'', was published in 1999.

Personal life

Row lives in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

and spends time in Colibita, Romania.

References

External links

John Row, Storyteller

John Row School Visits
(archive dated 4 September 2011)
World Storytelling Festival, 2023
1947 births Living people Alumni of the University of East Anglia English male poets People from Barking, London People from Harlow Writers from Essex Writers from the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham {{UK-poet-stub