Re: arsclist search for archival spoken word!

["George Brock-Nannestad" <gbn.av@xxxxxxxx>]

From:           	MeagnSound@xxxxxxx
Date sent:      	Tue, 28 Mar 2000 12:18:38 EST
Subject:        	arsclist search for archival spoken word!
To:             	ARSCLIST@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

On 28 March 2000  Meagan Howell wrote (abbreviated here!)
> 
> Dear ARSC list members,
> 
> Sound Portraits Productions and City Lore (New York's center for urban
> folk culture) recently received funding from the Corporation for Public
> Broadcasting to find wonderful spoken word 'moments' from archival field
> recordings for broadcast on NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday as a part of our
> American Talkers series.  

>Do you have any suggestions of places to explore?
> People we should speak with? Websites to look into, recordings to listen
> to,  magazines to read? An American Talker doesn't need to be a
> traditional storyteller per se; any kind of great voice can work. Please
> spread the word to anyone you think might be helpful. We'll happily give a
> listen to any and all possibilities--please send them our way! 
>

I would suggest that you tried to get hold of private person-to-
person recordings. Some ware made in the 1930s in recording 
booths placed at touristic locations (Niagara Falls, Empire State 
Building). Some were merely private sound recordings sent to 
members of your family. Some of the most interesting might be 
recordings sent back to the old country by immigrants (you would 
probably be restricted to english-language recordings?). Few of 
these would fulfil the criterion of a "great voice" or "exceptional 
talkers", and obviously their value would lie in their personal 
approach to the subject matter. You would want to be careful not to 
kill the voice by harsh noise removal - there is no shame in 
broadcasting original sound.

Good luck,


George Brock-Nannestad
Preservation Tactics