Obituary: Librarian, storyteller Jerry Blue brought words to life

Jerry Blue used to tell a story called "The Jealous Farmer" about a man who envied his neighbor's prize mule.

Out of spite, the story goes, the man stole the mule, placed it in a hole in the ground and began to cover it with dirt. But his plan didn't quite work — the mule, bothered by the dirt on its back, kept shaking it off and stomping it down. The more dirt the farmer threw, the more the mule shook and stomped until the hole filled in, leaving the mule on level ground.

"Whenever anybody says something to you that might hurt your feelings," Blue would say at the end of the story, "you just shake it off, stomp it down and rise to a higher level."

The renowned storyteller, senior librarian for the Hennepin County library system and beloved member of Minneapolis' Baha'i community died Oct. 16 after suffering a heart attack, according to friend and colleague Barbara Senevisai. He was 64.

Blue was born and raised in Buffalo, N.Y., After working as a teacher, he completed his master's in library science and started working in the Minneapolis public library system.

Over nearly 40 years, he worked at libraries across the city, often in struggling neighborhoods. Patrons would come in, sit down at his desk and talk for an hour, said Natalie Hart, one of his colleagues at the Sumner Library.

"He was very, very connected with the community here and with all of north Minneapolis," she said. "Just well-loved wherever he went."

"He was somebody who everybody looked forward to seeing," said Sharon Le Flore, a fellow member.

Blue was the embodiment of Baha'i values, she said, a man full of love for those around him.

"In his presence, you were as big as his heart," she said.

Blue was perhaps best known for his passion for stories of all kinds and his ability to make them come alive.

"I don't remember Jerry telling stories that were extremely sad or that had a lot of violence," said Minneapolis storyteller Nothando Zulu. "His was a very peaceful type of telling. That was his style."

"He always asked about your kids, even when they were all grown up," Hart said. "It was more important to him than whether or not my timecard was completed on time."

Blue worked with young people as a residency storytelling artist for Community Programs in the Arts (COMPAS), teaching storytelling at schools around the state.

"He felt very strongly about stories being told, books being available, opportunities being available," Senevisai said. "That's what stories represented to him."

Blue, who believed in the power of stories to dismantle boundaries and build community, was known for his work in preserving African-American history through storytelling.

He received numerous awards, including the 2008 Hennepin County Star Performer and the 1997 Minneapolis Award.

"I think the enjoyment I get out of [storytelling] is to see [people] thinking that stories can come from their minds and not just from TV," he said in an interview afterward. "That it's a living, breathing art."