Donald Smith

CAN imagination change the world? That is the question behind this year’s Scottish International Storytelling Festival, Open Word-Open World. Of course the answer is "not on its own". But imagination can change the way we look at things and pave the way for action.

THE nearest most of us come to horror or terror is in nightmares. However that may not be as comforting as it sounds. In actual situations of extreme threat and danger people often react with surprising calm and self-possession, as if our systems are wired to close down imagination and focus on doing something useful. But in nightmares we are exposed to the experience of horror in its essence, and it comes at us full force – out of the dark.

STORIES are the heartbeat of humanity, because they convey the music of what happens. Though we demand the "facts", truth is often more elusive because it is not just about events but what they mean to the people involved.