Legacy MattersDavid Isay is a 38 year old radio producer who wanted to "take oral history and put it in the hands of regular people." Winner of a "genius grant" from the MacArthur Foundation, and inspired by the 1930's Federal Writers Project, he developed StoryCorps to celebrate the lives of the uncelebrated. As Studs Terkel said, "[T]he ones who make the world go around, these millions of people who have never expressed themselves." (See David Taylor's article "Hear Here" in the Smithsonian, June, 2004). Photos are great but static. Nothing compares to the sound of a voice, especially when it's telling a great story.
New York City's Grand Central Station now has a tiny recording studio next to track 14 where more than 600 stories have been recorded. You can make an interview appointment on the website, get interviewing tips, then professionally record your interview with the help with an interview facilitor, get a CD of the interview and, with your permission, a copy goes to the Library of Congress. All for $10. You can also listen to excerpts from interviews on the website.
Posted by Jill Fallon at May 25, 2004 8:59 AM | Permalink