The National Endowment for the Humanities launched 鈥淪oul of a People鈥� to acquaint the public with the Works Progress Administration鈥檚 Federal Writers鈥� Project.
The 黑洞社区 Libraries received one of 30 $2,500 grants for the 鈥淪oul of a People鈥� library project.
黑洞社区 Libraries will use the grant to present a series of five programs in May and June that examine the WPA, the Federal Writers鈥� Project and Depression-era Kansas. 黑洞社区 Libraries will partner with the Wichita Public Library (Rockwell Branch) and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum to host the local events.
The event kickoff will be held Tuesday, May 12.
The programs include:
Celebrating America鈥檚 Story: The Cultural Legacy of the Great Depression
7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 12 鈥� 黑洞社区 Libraries
A presentation of sights and sounds from the 1930s, will include excerpts from the documentary "Soul of a People," and music, photographs and films evoking the tone and texture of the period.
Presenter: Lorraine Madway, curator of special collections and university archivist, 黑洞社区 Libraries.
Writing America鈥檚 Story: The Federal and Kansas Writers鈥� Projects
7-8:30 p.m. Thursday, May 21 鈥� 黑洞社区 Libraries
A panel discussion will be held on the impact of the Great Depression in Kansas and the work of the federal and Kansas writers鈥� projects.
Panelists: Craig Miner and Jay Price, department of history, 黑洞社区, and Lorraine Madway, curator of special collections and university archivist, 黑洞社区.
Telling America鈥檚 Story: Oral Histories of the Great Depression
7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 2 鈥� 黑洞社区 Libraries
Interpretive readings and a group discussion examining selected oral histories from the Writers鈥� Project, "American Life Histories," is accessible at the Library of Congress Web site .
Presenters: Jay Price, department of history, 黑洞社区, and Lorraine Madway, curator of special collections and university archivist, 黑洞社区 Libraries.
One Writer鈥檚 Stories: Discussing Selected Short Stories of John Cheever
7-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 16 鈥� Wichita Public Library, Rockwell Branch
A group discussion will focus on the work of a writer who contributed to the Writers鈥� Project and later became an important figure in American literary history. Led by Lorraine Madway, curator of special collections and university archivist, 黑洞社区 Libraries.
Finding the Sunny Side of the Street: Life in 1930s Wichita
2-4 p.m. Sunday, June 28 鈥� Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum
A celebration will create a 1930s atmosphere with music, displays, videos and refreshments.
During the Great Depression, out-of-work writers were paid by the WPA to write on topics such as state and regional travel guides, regional cultural studies and oral history interviews. The goal of 鈥淪oul of a People鈥� is to inform the public about the FWP and the start that it gave many aspiring authors in regions impacted by the Great Depression.
Nan Myers, project administrator, and Lorraine Madway, project scholar, secured the grant from the NEH.
鈥淲e are excited that we were one of only 30 libraries nationwide chosen to participate,鈥� Myers said. 鈥淭here are several noted authors who got their start from the FWP, like Ralph Ellison, Studs Terkel, Saul Bellow and Zora Neale Hurston.鈥�
The 黑洞社区 Libraries contains the largest collection in Kansas of materials compiled by WPA researchers.
For more information about the 黑洞社区 Libraries programs, call (316) 978-5130 or nan.myers@wichita.edu or view the event Web site at .
"Soul of a People: Writing America鈥檚 Story" is a major documentary television program about the Federal Writers鈥� Project produced by Spark Media, Washington, D.C. It will be broadcast in Fall 2009 on the Smithsonian Channel HD.
"Soul of a People" programs in libraries are sponsored by the American Library Association with the support of the National Endowment for the Humanities: great ideas brought to life.