National Oral History Project Storycorps Comes to Asheville
Staff reports
StoryCorps is a national initiative to document the history and unique stories of everyday Americans. The independent nonprofit works in partnership with National Public Radio (NPR) and the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. It was created by Dave Isay, an award-winning documentary producer who won a McArthur Foundation “Genius” Grant in 2000.
In Asheville, StoryCorps is partnering with WCQS, Asheville’s NPR station, which will air a selection of the local stories and create special programs around the project. Selected segments may also air nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition.
The StoryCorps MobileBooth — an Airstream trailer outfitted with a
recording studio — will arrive in Asheville on March 23 to collect
stories from Western North Carolina residents. It will be parked across
the street from WCQS radio’s downtown studio (73 Broadway) for six
weeks, conducting interviews from March 26 through May 2. StoryCorps
plans to collect (160) interviews during its stay in Western North
Carolina.
At the MobileBooth, interviews are conducted between two people
who know and care about each other. A trained facilitator guides the
participants through the interview process and handles the technical
aspects of the recording. At the end of a 40-minute session, the
participants walk away with a CD of their interview. With their
permission, a second copy becomes part of an archive at the American
Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for future generations to
hear.
“StoryCorps interviews help to define public radio’s unique
ability to share personal perspectives on the human experience with our
listeners. We are very excited about adding the stories of Western
North Carolinians to this national oral history project,” says WCQS
General Manager Ed Subkis.
“As StoryCorps has traveled across the country, we’ve seen the
profound effect it has had not only on the lives of those who have
participated in the project, but also on the millions who have heard
them each week on NPR,” said Isay. “We are so proud to continue our
mission to teach people to become better listeners, foster
intergenerational communication among families and communities, and
help Americans appreciate the strength in the stories of everyday
people they find all around them.”
StoryCorps currently operates a freestanding soundproof
recording booth at Foley Square in New York’s Lower Manhattan and at
the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. StoryCorps Griot is an
ongoing initiative to ensure that the voices, experiences, and life
stories of African Americans will be preserved and presented with
dignity. All interviews recorded as part of the Griot Initiative will
be archived at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American
History & Culture in addition to the Library of Congress.
Reservations for participating in the Asheville recording series
can be made beginning at 10 a.m. on March 12 by calling (800) 850-4406
or visiting www.StoryCorps.net and registering online. A second round
of public reservations opens at 10 a.m. on March 27. Reservations will
not be taken through WCQS.
