Interviewing
The art and technique of eliciting stories from others
My (our) StoryCorps Adventure
Last Saturday I finally did what I’d wanted to do for two years — experience what it’s like to conduct a StoryCorps in-booth interview. I wanted to sit in one of those cool AirStream trailers, complete with the facilitator and the two microphones, sit across from someone whose stories I want to hear, and leave with one of the two audio CDs that are created during that time (the other CD goes to the Library of Congress).
Mix one part logistics (or how to find the StoryCorps booth and why you should arrive extra-extra early) with one part Los Angeles Parks department malaise, with another part tech geekery, with two parts interviews, and another part Olvera Street visit (first time in 50 years!), and a ton of pictures, and you’ve got our day.
Alternate titles for this story could be: “The Kitchens Family’s Excellent Adventure,” or “The Out of Towners,” or “No country Recreation Department building for old men…or young boys.”
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens in
• Interviewing
• Personal History
• StoryCorps
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Notes on a first interview
Reader Daria of Missoula, Montana, stopped by the site to say that she’d bought a recorder that she saw mentioned here — the Zoom H2 Handy recorder
So I asked her some questions about how its use was, first time around. Here are my questions and her responses.
Susan: Have you ever done any recording before?
Daria: No
Susan: Describe the steps you took to conduct that first interview of your Dad
Daria: Wrote out questions (which I didn’t really follow — but was a good starting point. Made sure baby was occupied (quiet). Just started. Definetely room for improvement.
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens in
• Interviewing
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