Columbus, Ohio USA
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Do You Have a Story to Tell
StoryCorps is Coming to the Short North to Listen July 2-31

by Margaret Marten
July/August 2019 Issue

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WOSU News Director Michael Thompson at StoryCorps’ launch in the Short North on July 2. The mobile recording booth is stationed in the Greystone parking lot at 815 N. High St. through July 31. Photo © Dawn McCombs.

Local storytelling is getting national attention these days, and Columbus is now marked for a month-long visit by the StoryCorps cross-country mobile storytelling project. The non-profit organization routinely travels across the United States recording, interviewing and gathering stories that reflect the great diversity of American voices. Founded in 2003 by Dave Isay, a MacArthur Fellow and award-winning documentary producer, StoryCorps strives to develop an understanding of the rewards of listening and recognizing the “beauty, grace, and poetry in the lives and stories we find all around us.” Conversations are archived in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington.

StoryCorps gives people of all backgrounds, typically two storytellers at a time, the opportunity to record meaningful conversations during a 40-minute meeting. Ultimately, the project is intended to build connections between people with the hope of creating a more just and compassionate world.

StoryCorps MobileBooth Airstream trailer will be parked outside the Greystone building in the Short North at 815 N. High St. July 2-31 recording stories from folks throughout Columbus. Appointments are made on a first-come, first-served basis by calling 1-800-850-4406.

WOSU Public Media is hosting the Columbus event and collaborating with StoryCorps to curate and broadcast a selection of the Columbus stories, some of which will be aired by WOSU while others may end up in StoryCorps books, digital platforms, as animated shorts, or in the project’s weekly NPR broadcast. Interviews are aired on WOSU (89.7 p.m.) on Fridays between 6:20 and 6:30 a.m. and 8:20 and 8:30 a.m. WOSU’s new podcast series starting this fall will air a selection of recordings from the MobileBooth stop in the Short North.

For those who are curious or would like to participate, there are resources on the StoryCorps website to facilitate storytelling. For example, a page of “Great Questions” gives tips on how to get a conversation going. They also provide lesson plans and media for educators. An assortment of initiatives and programs have developed over the years addressing different communities and life events: children and grief, military voices, youth of color in the justice system, Latinos, African Americans, memory loss, serious illness, September 11, LGBTQ elders.

For the 2019 tour, StoryCorps is presenting participants with the option to take part in One Small Step, their new initiative meant to facilitate conversations between individuals who disagree politically. In order to record an interview as part of One Small Step, participants must notify StoryCorps in advance when they schedule their interview reservation.

According to Michael Thompson, news director at WOSU, the appointment slots for the first half of July filled within 35 minutes. For those unable to make an appointment, one can download an app and record a story anytime.

The Mobile Tour schedule posted online indicates that the MobileBooth will travel to Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, and Arizona through the remainder of the year.

Visit www.storycorps.org. The reservation number is 1-800-850-4406, or visit wosu.org/storycorps.

© 2019 Short North Gazette, Columbus, Ohio. All rights reserved.

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