Everyone has a story to tell
Sue Blechl
Originally published 09:14 a.m., January 12, 2008
Updated 09:14 a.m., January 12, 2008
Everyone has a story to tell. That’s the premise of the StoryCorps Project, which records interviews of everyday Americans. Through a permanent recording booth in New York’s Grand Central Station and mobile units traveling the nation, citizens can create forty-minute recordings that detail personal anecdotes and experiences. The recordings are archived with the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The storyteller also receives a copy.
The StoryCorps Project was launched in 2003, with renowned oral historian Studs Terkel helping with the dedication. The program got a huge boost when NPR — National Public Radio — began airing excerpts on weekly Friday morning shows. Today, over 10,000 interviews have been recorded, and the number grows continually.
This book collects poignant and inspirational stories and shares them in book form. The abridged interviews include a photo of the storyteller and their interviewer, often a family member or friend. Stories are grouped by broad topic, and there’s not a dud in the bunch. Every story selected for the book is interesting. We might think that ordinary people have no drama or humor or inspiration to share. On the contrary, each of these interviewees (and each of us) has wonderful stories to pass on. We all have experienced personal triumphs, losses, and embarrassments that are compelling. The StoryCorps Project works to capture these for posterity and for our own families. Stories of home and family, work, journeys and struggle (such as during the Civil Rights movement) make up the bulk of the book. The final chapter, called “Fire and Water”, recalls desperate experiences on Sept. 11, 2001 and in Hurricane Katrina. These were some of the most powerful stories for me, since they took place so recently and were so catastrophic. This book would be great as a read-aloud for families. It could be the start of a family project to tell and share stories of importance from our own lives. To get you started, a list of sixteen favorite StoryCorps questions is included. A few examples are: What was the happiest moment of your life? The saddest? Who was the most important person in your life? If you could hold on to one memory from your life for eternity, what would it be?
The library has other books of interviews and oral history. We can learn much about our country and its heritage by reading the personal narratives of ordinary citizens.
On the Net:
StoryCorps project: www.storycorps.net
“On the Shelf” is written by staff and volunteers of Emporia Public Library.
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