The Library of Congress\’ American Folklife Center is leading an effort to document public opinion concerning last Tuesday\’s attacks:
Exactly one week after terrorism struck the country, Rory Turner places his mini-disc recorder and microphone on a counter as construction workers, firefighters, cops, mothers with young children and business professionals grab lunch at the Cross Street Market in South Baltimore.
Turner, a folklorist and program director for the Maryland State Arts Council, finds a relatively quiet corner behind a Chinese food and barbecue stand. He turns to customer Douglas H. Strachan, pastor of St. Paul\’s Lutheran Church in Curtis Bay, and asks how he responded to the attacks. Strachan is happy to share his feelings with a stranger . . .
In the background, vegetables sizzle on the grill and an employee rinses a large colander of noodles. The clanging commotion of the lunch spot is absorbed by Turner\’s recorder, as are Strachan\’s words, so that listeners 100 or 1,000 years from now will know the sounds of lunch in the early 21st century as well as the pastor\’s impressions.
Turner\’s interview with Strachan and others having their noon meal is bound for the permanent collections of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in Washington . . .
More from the Baltimore Sun . A Real Audio file of \”The Day After Pearl Harbor,\” a radio documentary compiled from similar recordings made by the Library of Congress in 1941 (and mentioned in this article) is available here.
Recent Comments