But surely style and content define the particular storyteller, rather than storytelling itself. Furthermore it is the particular blend of styles in delivery and content that gives each storyteller his/her storytelling identity, isn't it? I would certainly be uncomfortable with any move to make storytellers conform to any particular style. To continue the singing analogy, whilst there are clearly many different singing styles, many singers happily and readily move from one style to the other, as those styles interrelate and nourish each other. Otherwise it would be a bit like all the members of the Musicians' Union passing a motion saying that folk music (or any other style) should be given the greatest emphasis over and above everything else.
I think you're absolutely right to say that folktales don't have to be old and the urban legends you cite are living proof of this. Nevertheless the fact that they deal with our fears and hopes and the realities of daily life is a very important aspect of these stories, but does not in itself make them traditional. Many non-traditional stories also deal with these things. In fact, it could be argued that all stories make some kind of comment on reality, that the very telling of a story is to invite the listener to seek out the additional meaning, the sub-text which is contained within the narrative itself. In his book Acts of Meaning, Jerome Bruner says something along the lines of the very act of storytelling presumes that the teller is taking a stance, even if this is a stance against taking stances.
However, maybe I'm getting off the point a little now.....
posted 24/7/98