Tales for an Unknown City is a vibrant selection of almost fifty stories from among the many told at One Thousand and One Friday Nights of Storytelling, a weekly open gathering in Toronto begun by Dan Yashinsky in 1978 and still going strong. There are tales from Canada and many other parts of the world; each followed by a brief word from the teller, giving us the flavour of the "Friday Nights."

Dan Yashinsky is a storyteller and writer from Toronto. He is the author of I Am Full, Golden Apples, Swimming With Chaucer, Suddenly They Heard Footsteps (winner of the Ann Izard Storytellers' Choice Award), and Tales for an Unknown City and the editor of four acclaimed collections of Canadian storytelling: Ghostwise, At the Edge, Next Teller, and Tales for an Unknown City. Dan co-founded both the Toronto Storytelling Festival and the Storytellers School of Toronto and began the 1001 Friday Nights of Storytelling in 1978, a weekly open evening of oral stories in Toronto that continues to this day. He has been a storyteller-in-residence at Queen's University, Toronto Public Library, The Stop Community Food Centre, Storytelling Toronto, UNICEF Canada and Baycrest Health Services, working in psychiatry, palliative care, and in the dementia program. Dan has performed at festivals in Israel, Sweden, Norway, Holland, England, Wales, Germany, Brazil, Austria, France, the U.S., Singapore, and Ireland, as well as all across Canada.

Dan Yashinsky's profile page

"This is a magnificent book, greatly enriched by Yashinsky's beautiful and evocative writing ... and by Alice Kane's typically graceful contribution ... The best part of reading the book was, to me, a strange intimacy I felt with the tale-tellers ... I actually felt as though I were hearing individual voices ... This is an unusual literary achievement ... I loved this book and was moved by it." Michele Landsberg, author and Toronto Star columnist. "The stories ... represent the imaginations of the diverse people who call Canada home and are a mix of true stories, new stories, fairy tales, translations and adaptations of published stories." Peggy Hill, Globe and Mail. "If stories are food for the soul, then this book offers its readers a smorgasbord ... an easy, pleasurable read." Patty Lawlor, Quill & Quire. "These stories ... have a power that only the absolute best writing can ever hope to match ... Yashinsky is to be lauded for collecting these tales into a marvellous and compelling volume." Sheldon Wiebe, Calgary Herald. "These are offbeat, often quirky folktales spun in the heart of bustling Toronto, although they draw their exotic themes from around the world." Rod Currie, Canadian Press. "The multicultural sampling these stories provide reflects the richness of Toronto's and Canada's ethnic resources." Elizabeth Anthony, Books in Canada.

"This is a magnificent book, greatly enriched by Yashinsky's beautiful and evocative writing ... and by Alice Kane's typically graceful contribution ... The best part of reading the book was, to me, a strange intimacy I felt with the tale-tellers ... I actually felt as though I were hearing individual voices ... This is an unusual literary achievement ... I loved this book and was moved by it." Michele Landsberg, author and Toronto Star columnist.
"The stories ... represent the imaginations of the diverse people who call Canada home and are a mix of true stories, new stories, fairy tales, translations and adaptations of published stories." Peggy Hill, Globe and Mail.
"If stories are food for the soul, then this book offers its readers a smorgasbord ... an easy, pleasurable read." Patty Lawlor, Quill & Quire.
"These stories ... have a power that only the absolute best writing can ever hope to match ... Yashinsky is to be lauded for collecting these tales into a marvellous and compelling volume." Sheldon Wiebe, Calgary Herald.
"These are offbeat, often quirky folktales spun in the heart of bustling Toronto, although they draw their exotic themes from around the world." Rod Currie, Canadian Press.
"The multicultural sampling these stories provide reflects the richness of Toronto's and Canada's ethnic resources." Elizabeth Anthony, Books in Canada.