Stories from Deep in the Heart: Nancye Raye Moses Scholarship
Texas Folklife is honored to announce the launch of the “Stories from Deep in the Heart” Nancye Raye Moses Scholarship Fund. The purpose of the Nancye Raye Moses fund is to support scholarships for public school teachers, students, and community members to participate in Texas Folklife’s “Stories from Deep in the Heart” folklore and media program, including professional development workshops, student internship training, and community media workshops. Scholarships will be awarded on a financial need basis to cover cost of attendance for Texas Folklife’s “Stories” summer workshops, student internships, and series of community media workshops.
The launch of the Nancye Raye Moses Scholarship Fund was made possible by the generous support of Chana and Ed Temple, who wanted to honor the memory of Chana’s mother, writer and storyteller Nancye Raye Moses. Chana is an educator, foreign language teacher, and former “Stories Summer Institute” teacher participant whose students at AISD’s O’Henry Middle School worked with Texas Folklife’s “Stories from Deep in the Heart” program to create a series of compelling digital postcards.
Contribute to the Nancye Raye Moses Fund
Nancye Raye Moses Biography:
Nancye Raye Moses was born in 1937 in Ames, OK to Charles and Ruth Holston. Her mother died when she was 4 or 5 yrs old which impacted her greatly and led her to writing as a form of refuge, self expression, and therapy. In her words:
I write to amuse myself and other people.
I write to possibly explain why I am what I am.
I write sometimes when I hear a rhythm in my mind and think it will help make a pleasant piece of poetry.
I write to leave some history of my family for the next generation.
Her father married again and her parents blessed her with a baby sister to dote on and share her hopes, dreams and woes as well. They tap danced and played piano and Nancye dreamed of bright lights on a big stage.
When she was 17 years old, her family moved to a university town, Fayetteville, AR. It was in Fayetteville where her four children were born and ran like bohemians through the hills and forests. But you could say that it wasn’t until 1984, that she found her home. At the suggestion of her son, Eric, she moved to Austin, TX. It was here that she loved to seek out a good play or listen to live music with her grandsons, eat ice cream, write her musings and explore to her heart’s content.
Most of all she loved to get together to talk and tell stories with friends and family.
Collection of Nancye Ray Moses' writings and poetry:
http://texasfolklife.org/sites/default/files/mosesanthology_final.pdf
