SOUL OF A PEOPLE RETURNS TO ALASoul of a People: Writing America's Story made a return visit to this week's American Library Association Annual Conference, held this year in Washington DC.
Last year, ALA and Spark coordinated a NEH-funded Soul of a People library campaign that involved 29 libraries and nearly 150 events across the country. These host libraries held screenings of the film, along with discussion groups, panels and presentations from local scholars and authors, and exhibits connected with the Depression, New Deal and the Writers' Project. They also produced imaginative events such as recreated Hoovervilles and soup kitchens, old time live radio broadcasts, and more, giving each local community a chance to experience and understand their own history during this era.
We will be posting a round-up of activities and a video summary shortly. The video will also be available for library participants to download!
At ALA, Soul of a People's producer and director Andrea Kalin, Spark producer Nancy Camp and representatives from three of the host libraries were on hand to discuss the project and how it carried out at the local level. The librarians who participated were Henry Fortunato (Kansas City Public Library, Missouri), Jude Schanzer (East Meadow Public Library, New York) and Nora Quinlan (NOVA Southeastern Library, Florida). They shared their insights about the program, its challenges, and some of the creative ways the libraries used Soul of a People as a springboard for activities to reach diverse audiences at a local level.
Camp concluded with a brief outline of the work underway - a new youth-focused online educational initiative, being developed now with a grant from the NEH.
Posts
Hello! I don't know where to put this comment but just wanted to say I was sorry Oliver L. didn't follow up on interviewing me about my father, Irving Fiske (Fishman), who was a writer for the Federal Writer's Project and was one of the primary rewrite men on the WPA Guide to NYC. He wrote the chapter on Wall Street and edited much of the rest.
ReplyDeleteI had truly hoped he could be included in this wonderful story.
But I am glad you did it, even without him. Still, it would have added some spice to the tale, as Irving became an 'anti-guru' in the oldest alternative community in Vermont and had a career above and beyond his life as a freelance writer, playwright and WPA/FWP writer.
He died after making love to one of his three girlfriends in 1990, saying (as well he might), "I have created this myself!"
Anyway, thanks for thinking of Irving...
Very warm thoughts
Ladybelle (Isabella) Fiske McFarlin
Rochester Vermont