Shinan Barclay

Accomplishments and Accouterments

Shinan traveled to the Arctic Circle at age nineteen, taught primary grades and began to learn about Sorytelling and Shamanic traditions.
She taught Elementary school for fifteen years, including music and guitar to deaf and blind students Completed M.A./PhD(abd) Psychology (1982) University of Humanistic Studies, San Diego, CA.
After graduate school and vanquishing a tumor, Shinan left corporate job and city life for country living, artistic expression and Native American studies in northern Arizona. For the last twelve years, Shinan has been residing in Sedona.
Shinan's writings have appeared in over 200 regional and national publications: Ranger Rick, National Wildlife, Canada, Puget Sound Women's Digest, Holistic Life Magazine, Sedona Times, Sedona Visitor's Guide, Sedona Journal, The Tab, Tuscon Lifeline, etc.
Shinan is co-author of two books: "The Sedona Experience", (in its 11th printing) and "Flowering Woman, Moontime for Kory", a story of a young girl's rites of passage into womanhood, which received the 1991 Omega Award as one of ten books to make a contribution to humanity.
On assignment for the Sedona Arts and Entertainment paper, Shinan covered the 1989 Arizona Storytellers Convention. In 1990 and 1992 she produced storytelling workshops and concerts with national storytellers.
Shinan founded the Sedona Storytellers' Guild and Verde Valley Tellers of Tales. She sponsored national tellers, monthly performances, classes, workshops and created a community of local tellers. In 1989, Shinan produced a one woman storytelling concert - to a standing room only audience. "The best night I've ever spent in Sedona", said Joan McClelland, an 11-year Sedona resident and City Council member.
Shinan has lectured and demonstrated Storytelling and Mythmaking to service clubs, churches, organizations and schools including: Kiwanis , Rotary, Catholic Women's Guild, Christian Education Association, Adult Community Center, Library Guild, Children's School House, Arizona Watercolor Association, etc.
Designed, developed and taught more than 200 classes, workshops and seminars locally and nationally on Creativity, Writing and Storytelling including: "Personal Storytelling; How to find the stories of your life;" Therapeutic Stories: Creating healing stories for children;" "Earth Stories;" "Masks, Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype;" "Mythmaking," "Book Writing Made E-Z;" "Break Into Print;" "Getting Published," "Marketing and Self-Promotion and Made Simple;" "Reclaim Your Authentic Voice;" etc.
Researching and creating new myths has been one of Shinan's passsions. She has written "When the Great Spirit Calls us Home", the rite of passage called death, published by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross M.D. and now translated and published in Japan. Another of her works is "A Woman in her Prime" (humor) given the "Judges Award" at the Southwestern Authors 1993 Short Story Contest. Shinan is currently working on other myth stories for publication.
An award-winning member of the Oak Creek Orators, Toastmasters International, Shinan received Speaker of the Year Award for 1992 and 1993, 1st Place Award Humorous Speech Contest Northern Division 1990, 1st Place Award Serious Speech Contest 1992, 1993, 1994, and "World Class Speaker" Award 1994.
Shinan's performances include: Mt. McKinley National Park, Alaska; Religious Science Church, Dayton, Ohio; Catholic Women's Conference, Big Bear, California, 1989; Arizona State Storytelling Festival, 1989 & 1990; Heartland Storytellers, Austin, Minnesota; Sedona Historical Comedy Night, 1992 & 1994; Minnesota Women's Press Salon, 1992; Good Council Motherhouse, 1992; 12th Annual Women's Spirituality Conference, Mankato, Minnesota, 1993; Search Group- Unity Church, Rochester, Minnesota, 1993; Wild Woman's Retreats International, 1993 &1994.
As Adjunct Professor, 1993 California Institute of Integral Studies, Shinan developed and presented classes in "Wild Woman Archetype" and "Woman's Spirituality" to graduate students in an independent study program.
Shinan was contracted by D.C Heath Co. of Lexington Massachusetts, (textbook publishing company) to perform storytelling on a prototype educational CDROM (computer learning video).
She is niece of world renowned Authors/Psychoanalysts Rollo May PhD., known as the "Father of Humanistic Psychology", author of: "Love and Will", "Meaning of Anxiety", "Cry for Myth", etc.; and Gerald G. May M.D., author of "Simply Sane", "Awakening the Heart", etc.

Shinan's Home Page