storyteller

Once upon a time, Joel ben Izzy worked as a mime — until he injured his hip in a car crash.\n\nThen he became a storyteller who lost his voice.\n\n\”If I could market irony, I\’d be rich,\” said the wry, rueful performer.\n\nBen Izzy — who eventually regained his speech — recounts the journey in a moving new book, \”The Beggar King and the Secret of Happiness\” (Algonquin, $22.95). Woven into the memoir are 15 multicultural folk tales, including the Talmudic legend of how King Solomon achieved wisdom after temporarily losing his empire.