Soul of a People: Writing America's Story
Winner of five 2010 Peer Awards, including “Best of D.C.” In the Great Depression, Americans endured a crisis not just of economy, but identity, and millions of unemployed men and women looked to the government for a life raft. Hundreds of thousands found jobs with the Works...
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Winner of five 2010 Peer Awards, including “Best of D.C.”
In the Great Depression, Americans endured a crisis not just of economy, but identity, and millions of unemployed men and women looked to the government for a life raft. Hundreds of thousands found jobs with the Works Progress Administration (WPA), most wielding picks and shovels to build roads and schools. For a smaller cadre, however, the tools were little more than a pen, paper and the spirit of investigation. The Project, one of four arts programs under the WPA, fed thousands of unemployed writers and "would-be" writers, and assigned them to document
Major funding for Soul of a People was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Smithsonian Network, and the state humanities councils of
,
by co-producer and
co-writer Buy the DVD
Official Movie Website at www.soulofapeople.com.
Spark Media is planning a robust outreach campaign to accompany the broadcast of "Soul of a People." Funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Library Association is sponsoring a special grant program to coincide with the film's broadcast. Thirty libraries across the country will be awarded small grants to develop special events for regional audiences, which will include clips from the film, readings from their state guide and a discussion with local authors or scholars about the influence of the Writers' Project on their work.
Soul of a People' also has a companion book released in Spring 2009 by Wiley and Sons Publishers. To support and enhance both the film and the book, Spark Media is developing an expansive website that will feature more information about the film and its characters, and short web documentaries focusing on the almost endless number of rich stories that came out of the Writers' Project.
Soul of a People' also has a companion book released in Spring 2009 by Wiley and Sons Publishers. To support and enhance both the film and the book, Spark Media is developing an expansive website that will feature more information about the film and its characters, and short web documentaries focusing on the almost endless number of rich stories that came out of the Writers' Project.
Create Awareness " Contact your library about applying for the American Library Association grant. Sponsor a screening and discussion about the Guidebooks in your library and community centers. Invite local authors to join.
Take A Tour Find a copy of your state's American Guide. Follow one of the tours and go on a road trip with your friends to explore your state.
Keep History Alive Send a request to Storycorps to send a recording booth to your hometown. Or be your own oral historian. Use a tape recorder and talk to your grandparents, parents or neighbors; as the Writers Project showed us, every story counts and contributes in its own way to the story of America.
Take A Tour Find a copy of your state's American Guide. Follow one of the tours and go on a road trip with your friends to explore your state.
Keep History Alive Send a request to Storycorps to send a recording booth to your hometown. Or be your own oral historian. Use a tape recorder and talk to your grandparents, parents or neighbors; as the Writers Project showed us, every story counts and contributes in its own way to the story of America.
