The Oral History Workshop: Collect and Celebrate the Life Stories of Your Family and Friends »

Cynthia Hart is a renowned designer and artist, and the owner/curator of The Cynthia Hart Collection of Cherished Images. She is the author of Cynthia Hart’s Victoriana Calendar, Cynthia Hart's Scrapbook Workshop, The Love of Lace, Parlor Cats, and other books. Her designs have been licensed to fragrance, gift, stationery, and home furnishing companies. Her studio is in New York City.

Lisa Samson, a co-founding partner of Pangolin Pictures, has produced documentaries for WNET, National Geographic, the Discovery Channel, and A&E. She holds a Master's degree in history and archival management from New York University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and Wilmington, Delaware.

All it takes is one question to jump-start a project that so many of us want to do, but never get around to: sitting down with a loved one and asking for the story of his or her life. It’s time to open the door to memories and discover the joy of creating an oral history.

A step-by-step guide that’s both practical and inspirational, The Oral History Workshop takes what too often feels like an overwhelming project and breaks it down into a series of easily managed tasks: how to prepare for an interview, put your subject at ease, and encourage openness and candor. How to keep an interview on track—and when to follow a fascinating digression. Video vs. audio, with recording tips and preservation strategies for each. And how to weave the whole into a finished keepsake and build a family archive. Included are hundreds of thought-provoking questions guaranteed to get your subjects reminiscing.

Introduction vi

1 Before You Ask: Preparing for the Interview 2

2 Making it Happen: Recording & Troubleshooting the Interview 22

3 Ask a Question, Gather a Story: Mapping out Your Interview 48

4 Molding Your Material: Preparing & Preserving the Interview 122

5 Turing It into Something More: Writing, Scrapbooking & Archiving Your Interview 138

Appendix 169

Acknowlegments 179