Interviewing
The art and technique of eliciting stories from others
Post-disaster interviewing
The Louisiana Folklife Program has a page, In the wake of the hurricanes, devoted to “collecting our stories and preserving our culture.” There are some excellent resources on that page for interviewing Hurricane Katrina survivors and responders. Why might this be of interest to someone who is not from the Gulf area? (I’ve been thinking about interview questions today). Disasters happen. People are affected—-both the survivors and those who respond. These are a good starting place to elicit details about a major disaster experience. And there are a huge number of people affected by Katrina and Rita, too. Too— the Gulf diaspora is so widespread that there may be survivors and responders close by.
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on March 10, 2006 in
• Interviewing
• Oral History Projects
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The Remembering Site
The Remembering Site —-Sharing our collective memories—- is a website where you can join, and be presented with a host of questions to answer. It’s like writing a personal memoir, in small stages. The site is primarily devoted to text and writing recollections. But the nonprofit foundation offers audio recording services, too. One co-founder, DG Fulford (together with her brother Bob Greene) wrote a book To Our Chidren’s Children
You sign up for the site, pay $10, and are guided to answer as many or as few of the myriad questions presented. Here are a few from the page of sample questions (that’s 4 of 32; go the page for all of ‘em). I like them for the way that they pull for specifics and sensory details, but if you’re going to be asking questions in a conversation, I wouldn’t ask multiple-point questions:
Did your grandparents live nearby? How often did you visit their homes? Did the house have a special cooking smell? Onions? Cookies? What did their couch feel like? How big was the kitchen?
Do you remember “getting” a concept in school? Cursive writing, maybe? Do you remember the moment when you first learned to read? Was school work hard or easy for you?
How did you get to school? Did you walk? Did you walk with a... Read More
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on March 09, 2006 in
• Interviewing
• Links
• Personal History
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Dakota Memories Oral History Project
North Dakota State University Oral History Project. Germans from Russia. Nice in that there are documents like scope and permissions form all for the viewing from the web site.
Lots of cool stuff found in the pop-up menus on the site, including the Inteview Topic Checklist (which is a nifty intake form, thanks to that handy-dandy world wide web!) The items that’re are what we’ll be talking about, please check off additionally listed topics you’d feel comfortable and/or interested in discussing) and biography form. It’s a good resource to think about your interviews and prep.
Of course, since it’s for a university-related project, there is a release form. Because this is going to become a resource used by scholars in perpetuity, as curated by the university. So the interviewee (narrator) says, Yes, you have my permission to make use of the interview. But an agreement among family is a good thing, too. Maybe you’ll end up giving copies of your history to a local historical society or something. And any institution is going to want a release, so that the... Read More
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on November 09, 2005 in
• Interviewing
• Oral History Projects
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Twins talk in the StoryCorps booth
Recordnet, California’s Central Valley paper, profiles Stockton twins (currently in Seattle) as they swapped stories about their father in the StoryCorps booth.
In a 40-minute session in StoryCorps’ MobileBooth, a recording studio constructed inside a silver Airstream trailer, the Canote twins, 54, swapped tales of their father, Bob Canote, who died last year at 81 in Saratoga. The oldest of five children, Bob became a banker after he completed his World War II service in Italy.
A profile of local people and a discussion of the StoryCorps project (which, thus far, hasn’t been getting much coverage on this site, though I’ve been following it quite closely. And wondering when and if they’re going to come to the L.A. area. The West Coast tour stops in San Francisco, and that bums me out.
Here’s their how-to for doing it yourself:
If you want to participate in StoryCorps but can’t find the time, you can conduct your interview at home.
1. Pick a storyteller.
Figure out whom you want to interview. A grandparent? An old... Read More
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on October 20, 2005 in
• Interviewing
• Oral history in the news
• Oral History Projects
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Interviewing tips from a psychologist
Detroit Free Press: Louise Reed Ritchie had studied journalism. But she learned far more about the art of interviewing when she trained to be a clinical psychologist. She discusses tips for interviewing, directing her advice to journalists, but using her clinical background.
Before studying clinical psychology, I thought I knew everything about interviewing that a journalist needed to know. Through coursework and experience as a reporter at AP and The Washington Post, I’d learned to get usable quotes from almost anyone, from grieving parents to recalcitrant bureaucrats.
But while working on my doctorate in clinical psychology, I learned how little journalists know about interviewing. Journalists learn to get accurate quotes on deadline. Psychologists learn to get the measure of a soul in 50 minutes.
Training provides the difference.
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on August 26, 2005 in
• Interviewing
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Listening ear
The State, South Carolina (03/15/2005) Collecting Oral Histories
The most effective tool in collecting an oral history, besides a working tape recorder, is a listening ear, according to Converse College history professor Melissa Walker.
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on March 15, 2005 in
• Do it: Yourself
• Interviewing
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Transom Tools: SHOUT OUT - A Kid’s Guide to Recording Stories
This page on Transom.org is a guide (for kids) on how to collect stories. It’s offered as a downloadable PDF, too.
Collecting stories is easier than you think. Find a park bench or front porch. Invite your grandmother, your friend, or coach to join you. And listen.
That’s the key. In the listening, you will hear stories that people often keep to themselves - that we don’t slow down enough to hear. These stories can be truer and more important than many things we hear on radio, see on TV or read in the newspaper.
This booklet will help you gather those stories. It is an introduction to spoken history.
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on March 14, 2005 in
• Do it: Yourself
• Interviewing
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The Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide
View as web pages or download entire pdf. A guide by Marjorie Hunt published and made freely available by the Smithsonian Institution.
From the introduction:
We hope that the Smithsonian Folklife and Oral History Interviewing Guide inspires you to turn to members of your own family and community as key sources of history, culture, and tradition. But where does one start? This booklet presents some guidelines Smithsonian folklorists have developed over the years for collecting folklife and oral history from family and community members. It features a general guide to conducting an interview, as well as a sample list of questions that may be adapted to your own needs and circumstances. The booklet concludes with a few examples of ways to preserve and present your findings, a selection of further readings, a glossary of key terms, and sample information and release forms.
Posted by Susan A. Kitchens on September 08, 2004 in
• Interviewing
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