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Abstract

In this article I take a closer look at Walter Benjamin’s essay ‘The Storyteller’ by connecting the craft of carpet weaving to storytelling. I reveal that Benjamin has encoded a ladder in his essay through his seemingly fragmentary ruminations or ‘philosophical observations’. I attempt a genealogy of ‘The Storyteller’, where I recognize that the ladder is an inspiration from Jewish mystical tradition, the Kabbala, where the cycle of life is realized and interpreted. I trace this ladder of experience through my own fieldwork on Persian carpets where I argue the importance of carpet weaving for the art of storytelling and vice versa, and in turn its implications and possibilities for recounting ethnographic accounts. By examining Benjamin’s writing on the craft of the artisan and his concept of experience, I explore the significance of storytelling as an ethnographic and experiential art.

Keywords

Walter Benjamin carpets ethnography storytelling tactility textiles weaving

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References

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Of ladders and looms: Moving through Walter Benjamin’s ‘Storyteller’

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