©2000-2010 Diane Wolkstein / Cloudstone Productions, New York City. All rights are reserved.

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“Diane becomes one with the story, and the story seems to flow from her very being."


— Yvonne Young, National

Storytelling Journal

Photo by Mike Mullen

Synopsis


  1. Through voice, gesture, and song, Diane Wolkstein, renowned storyteller and author, brings to life the oldest known recorded story the 4,000 year old epic of Inanna, the Sumerian goddess of love and fertility. Deciphered from cuneiform tablets from ancient Iraq, the inspiring myth of Inanna recounts the emergence of the goddess into womanhood, her search for wisdom, her courtship, marriage, descent into the underworld, and rebirth.


  3. This riveting presentation, performed in the United States at the Smithsonian, the American Museum of Natural History, and the British Museum to sold-out audiences, has been given on five continents. As Wolkstein speaks we are drawn into another world and made a part of that time and place.



Video Preview

 

Reviews


  2. "There's no one like Diane Wolkstein. A totally brilliant performance."

  3. — Olympia Dukakis

  4. “Inanna, the bewitching and powerful goddess of the Sumerians, speaks from the heart in this wonderful production that brings her poetry and divinity to life after millennia of silence.”

  5. — Dr. Irving Finkel, Keeper of Antiquities, British Museum

  6. “To hear, to see Diane Wolkstein perform Inanna is to understand the power of myth.”

  7. — Olivier Bernier, Lecturer, Metropolitan Museum of Art


  8. "Diane becomes one with the story, and the story seems to flow from her very being."

  9. — Yvonne Young, National Storytelling Journal


  10. "Erotic and comic, terrifying and triumphant, Wolkstein's performance evokes the mystery and the deep humanity of the Sumerians... invaluable to our students as both an alternative to the canon of male‐oriented texts and as an entry into world literature."

  11. — Patricia Clark Smith

  12. "This specialized theater piece will have attraction for those with a keen interest in ancient civilizations, mythology, religious studies (particularly goddess worship), Middle Eastern studies, and performance arts."

  13. — Library Journal




Performance Photos

 

For all photos please credit Valerie Sieyes unless otherwise noted.


View the Inanna in London 2007 Gallery here...


Available Media

INANNA, QUEEN OF HEAVEN AND EARTH

Her Stories and Hymns from Sumer

Co‐authored by Samuel Noah Kramer

Illustrated with the artwork from Sumer, with notes by Elizabeth Forte.

HarperCollins, New York, 1983, softbound. ISBN 0‐06090854‐8.


Available from Amazon.com

INANNA (DVD)

Recorded live at the American Museum of Natural History
in New York City.

Cloudstone, New York, 2007.


Diane is joined in this performance by composer–musician Geoffrey Gordon — an acclaimed multi–instrumentalist and world music pioneer — whose musical score evokes an atmosphere of mystery, stillness, and terror.


Purchase from our Webshop:

Inanna around the World


  1. “Storytelling Brings Understanding,” by Vern Barnet, Kansas City Star, April 8th, 2009
    http://www.kansascity.com/644/story/1127550.html


  3. Vern Barnet’s e-mail interview with Diane Wolkstein (excerpted in the above Kansas City Star article)

  4. http://cres.org/story/


  5. “Inanna and the Sacred Marriage,” by Johanna Stuckey,     Matrifocus, Imbolc 2005, Volume 4-2.

  6. http://www.matrifocus.com/IMB05/spotlight.htm


  8. “Venus: Queen of Heaven and Earth,” by Melanie Reinhart, astrologer and author.

  9. Part 1: Descent and Return:

  10. http://www.melaniereinhart.com/melanie/Venus1.htm


  12. Part 2: Journey Across the Sun: The Transit of 2012

  13. http://www.melaniereinhart.com/melanie/Venus2.htm




On this page:

Synopsis | Video preview
Reviews | Performance Photos

Available Media
Inanna around the World