StoryCorps Nashville Oral History Project

StoryCorps is a national oral history project to instruct and inspire everyday people to collect one another's stories in sound. To make this possible, SC has soundproof StoryBooths (2 permanent ones in NYC and 3 mobile booths traveling the country in airstream trailers, as well as one at the Milwaukee Public library and now one here in Nashville) where folks can go to tell their stories to one another. Each interview lasts 40 minutes, is facilitated by a trained facilitator (me!) and participants leave with a broadcast-quality CD recording of their interview. With participants' permission, each interview also gets archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. A very few interviews are edited and broadcast nationally Friday mornings on NPR's Morning Edition. StoryCorps believes that everyone has a story to tell and that these stories deserve to be told and recorded for future generations. To date, SC has collected over 10,000 stories!

StoryCorps hosts its official launch on Oct. 6th, coinciding with the opening of the new Special Collections Center at the Main Library. The grand opening will be on Sat., Oct. 6th from 11 - 4 at the Main Library, 615 Church Street. Dave Isay, founder of StoryCorps, will be there to play some of the more memorable clips from SC interviews and show off the new booth.

To participate, just grab a partner (or come alone, if you wish -- a facilitator can interview you), make an appointment, and head on down to the main library. You can make an appointment by visiting www.storycorps.net, or by calling our reservation line at 800-850-4406 (it's open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week). The suggested donation is only $10.

Kate Wingate
kzwingate@yahoo.com