Dan Yashinsky grew up at the crossroads of many cultures. His ancestors are Romanian, French, Polish, Swedish, Brazilian, Turkish, Jewish. Originally American, he has lived in Canada for nearly thirty years. He became a storyteller because he was haunted by his mother's war stories, and because he fell in love with Homer. He founded the Toronto Festival of Storytelling in l979, and co-founded the Storytellers School of Toronto. He also began Toronto's 1,001 Friday Nights of Storytelling in l978 - a weekly gathering that is still going strong. Dan is the author and editor of five collections of Canadian storytelling. He created and hosted a national radio show last summer: Talking Stick on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio One. He is currently working on a book titled The Listener's Tale. Dan travels extensively as a storyteller and story-listener. He is looking forward to his fifth visit to Austria.