Soul of a People

Americans faced crushing financial devastation during the Great Depression. But it was also a unique opportunity to capture the essence of our country ... a people who refused to give up hope. Both witty and heartbreaking, Soul of a People is the powerful story behind a controversial public assistance program, the Federal Writers Project one of four arts programs of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Works Progress Administration. Thousands of writers including Richard Wright, Saul Bellow and John Cheever traveled throughout the country to interview ordinary people for a series of state guidebooks. But controversy ignited when they portrayed not only our triumphs but our tragedies. A unique portrait of 1930s Americana, what they uncovered profoundly impacted the project, the nation, and modern literature. Features interviews with two of the Project's best-known workers, Studs Terkel (in one of his last interviews) and Stetson Kennedy; as well as a diverse group of authors, poets and historians, including Douglas Brinkley and David Bradley. Based on the book by David A. Taylor and narrated by award-winning actress Patricia Clarkson., ISBN13: B003K7C6V6 ISBN10: B003K7C6V6 Material Type: dvd