SOUL OF A PEOPLE: VOICES FROM THE WRITERS' PROJECT is the story of the most chaotic and influential publishing venture in history.

In the Great Depression, while hundreds of thousands survived by wielding picks and shovels on WPA jobs, a smaller cadre used pen, paper, and the spirit of invention. Their task: create America's first-ever self-portrait in the WPA guides.

This documentary offers a compelling window into that experience.

For outreach, it is a chance to re-acquaint Americans of all ages with a critical period of U.S. history and the little-known legacy of the Federal Writers' Project: literature, travel guides, photos, oral histories, and rich recordings of voice and music. This treasure trove - along with Spark Media's sweeping new film - will show how that legacy has renewed meaning for America today.

This program is funded by:

The Latest from the Writers' Pen

Welcome to American Voices, the website for the new documentary and outreach project, SOUL OF A PEOPLE: VOICES FROM THE WRITERS' PROJECT. Recently awarded production funds from the NEH, SOUL OF A PEOPLE is in full production.

But even though we're just getting started, we already have some material on the site for you to explore. This includes a more detailed story treatment for the documentary, a summary of our outreach strategy which is being planned with the American Library Association, and most exciting: a short clip featuring excerpts from the interviews we have already completed with living legends and Writers' Project alumni Studs Terkel and Stetson Kennedy!

Click here to view the interview excerpts.

Now that we are in full production, our project team will be moving fast and furious, so check back here often for updates and new information regarding the film and its accompanying outreach campaign.

For more information, please see:

Click here to register for the American Voices mailing list so you can receive updates on all project activity!