“I Was Picketing with a Camera”
Documentary pioneer Leo Seltzer, whose 1930s films are featured in the film Soul of a People, is the subject of my post today on the… Read More »“I Was Picketing with a Camera”
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Many Voices Sounding from the 1930s
This post honors the range of voices that emerged from the Writers’ Project. Marking crime novelist Jim Thompson’s 103rd birthday a few weeks ago, my… Read More »Many Voices Sounding from the 1930s
Harvey Pekar Channels Studs Terkel and Honors Oral History
“Why Studs Terkel?” asked the man on stage at the Wisconsin Book Festival Sunday. “Why Harvey Pekar?” Indeed. Paul Buhle, an oral historian and emeritus… Read More »Harvey Pekar Channels Studs Terkel and Honors Oral History
An Important Piece of Our Cultural Heritage
John Woods, in his review, says Soul of a People consists of “the stories and history of arguably an important piece of our twentieth century… Read More »An Important Piece of Our Cultural Heritage
Looking at History a New Way
On the National Mall last weekend, the National Book Festival brought out more than 100,000 readers and book lovers, an encouraging sight. In the History… Read More »Looking at History a New Way
1930s culture coming to a screen near you…
This Saturday the 26th I’ll be at the National Book Festival talking with historian Douglas Brinkley about the WPA writers and what they found in… Read More »1930s culture coming to a screen near you…
Illinois Guide Anniversary and a Voice Against Intolerance
Seventy years ago today, the WPA guide to Illinois came out as controversy swirled around the Federal Writers’ Project. Texas congressman Martin Dies was deep… Read More »Illinois Guide Anniversary and a Voice Against Intolerance
Hearing a Culture Change in Florida
Seventy years ago this month, Zora Neale Hurston began a landmark field recording tour, traveling down through Florida’s hot coastal towns and turpentine camps, gathering… Read More »Hearing a Culture Change in Florida
Iconoclast Rode the Rails for the WPA Guides
A number of hoboes made their way from freight cars to the federal payroll of the WPA Writers’ Project. The Soul of a People book… Read More »Iconoclast Rode the Rails for the WPA Guides
Smithsonian Channel Gears Up for the 1930s
With the Soul of a People film screened in Chicago last week and slated for national broadcast on September 6th, the Smithsonian Channel is getting… Read More »Smithsonian Channel Gears Up for the 1930s