See a photo of John, his bio, and Part 1 of this Q&A.
Q&A with John Randall, Question 2
Q: How did you initially become involved with story/storytelling/ narrative? What attracted you to this field? What do you love about it?
A: My love of storytelling began with my mother and grandmother reading four books to me: Horton Hears a Who, Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. Over and over and over. When I could read for myself, I read those same books and a few others (NOT Dick, Jane, Sally, Spot and Puff!) over and over and over — this time adding to the pleasure of repetition the desire to figure out how the magic of storytelling was performed. By the third grade, I had added Tarzan, John Carter of Mars, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and The Lost World to the list.
In the fourth grade, Miss Barr (my first of many teacher crushes) let me
read King Solomon’s Mines to the class, chapter by chapter, every day after lunch. From that moment, my path in life was set. I never wanted to be a baseball or football player (to my father’s everlasting chagrin). Never a fireman, a policeman, or a soldier. For me, it was writer, paleontologist, archaeologist, explorer, teacher. Regardless of the job I held at any particular time, I found ways to shape it to these, my true loves. And now, at 60, for my last magic trick, I’ve rolled them all into one as an Internet Narratologist. And upon my death, I expect my last words will be the same that James Kirk uttered in Star Trek: Generations, at his own end:
“It was fun!”