Episode Summary:
In the 1930s, the notion of making an incubator for creativity in a region devastated by the Great Depression got tested in Nebraska. This episode looks at what happened there when the Writers’ Project came to town, through a group of creatives from contrasting backgrounds, including a hobo, a nurse and a hardware store poet – all under the watchful eye of a university professor and a celebrated novelist.
Starting from chaos, they ignited a surprising alchemy and made the Lincoln office one of the most productive Writers’ Project hubs in the country. The Season 1 finale listens in as Americans face war clouds on the horizon, and a national radio show asks, “Can we count on youth to uphold the American Way?”
Speakers:
Stephen Cloyd, librarian and historian
Marilyn Holt, historian
James Reidel, biographer and poet
Douglas Brinkley, historian
Links and Resources:
Rudolph Umland and the Federal Writers' Project
The Nebraska Federal Writers' Project - Lincoln City Libraries
Mari Sandoz and the Writers' Project
Weldon Kees reads his poem, "1926"
WPA Guide to Nebraska (free PDF)
Reading List:
Vanished Act: The Life and Art of Weldon Kees, by James Reidel
Nebraska During the New Deal, by Marilyn Irvin Holt
Soul of a People by David A. Taylor
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl, by Timothy Egan
The Collected Poems of Weldon Kees, edited by Donald Justice
Crazy Horse, by Mari Sandoz
Credits
Host: Chris Haley
Director: Andrea Kalin
Producers: Andrea Kalin, David A. Taylor, James Mirabello
Writer: David A. Taylor
Editor: Ethan Oser
Assistant Editor: Amy Young
Story Editor: Michael May
Additional Voices: Jared Buggage, Sam Hanks, JoJo Drake Kalin, Antonio Macias, James Mirabello, Mariko Miyazaki, Kate Rafter and Sarah Smack
Featuring music and archival from:
Aaron Copland
Alexandria Symphony Orchestra
Joseph Vitarelli
Bradford Ellis
Mike Sayre
Ceiri Torjussen
Pond5
Library of Congress
National Archives and Records Administration
New York Public Radio Archives Collection
Nebraska Public Media
For additional content, visit peoplesrecorder.info or follow us on social media: @peoplesrecorder
Produced with support from:
National Endowment for the Humanities
Humanities Nebraska
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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