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Friday, October 26 at Noon
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As part of Roosevelt’s New Deal program of the 1930s, the Works Progress Administration (WPA) provided relief jobs to millions of Americans. One facet of the WPA was the hiring of men and women to document the history and folklore of America so as to capture the “soul” of the nation. While researching at the Montana Historical Society Research Center more than a decade ago, historian Matthew Basso stumbled upon copies of six stories that had been submitted for inclusion in a volume titled Men at Work. They arrived too late to be considered. Federal Writers’ Project (FWP) staff had already chosen thirty-four stories from submissions across the country and the volume was nearing publication. In the end, however, that publication was waylaid by the eruption of World War II and the manuscript was forgotten. Now, Basso is bringing these rediscovered stories to their intended audience—the American people.
Works of fiction that have a creative nonfiction feel, these narratives stem from direct observation of or participation in the work described and offer portraits of Americans from diverse ethnic backgrounds who labored in jobs as varied as logging, mining, fruit packing, and rodeo riding. The writers, directed by editor Harold Rosenberg, also represent a variety of backgrounds and experience. Some, like Jack Conroy, Jim Thompson, and Chester Himes, became strong voices in the literary world. The vivid accounts in “Men at Work: Rediscovering Depression-era Stories from the Federal Writers’ Project” illuminate the meaning of work during a time when jobs were scarce and manual labor highly valued. With our country once again in financial crisis and workers facing an anemic job market, today’s readers will find these stories especially poignant.
Matthew Basso is an assistant professor of history and gender studies, and director of the American West Center at the University of Utah. He is a co-editor of Across the Great Divide: Cultures of Manhood in the American West.
Monday, October 1, 2012
The calendar for Utah Archives Month is now being updated for October 2012 events at 
Join us on October 21st at the Utah State Archives as Will Bagley discusses his latest book (co-authored with David Bigler), The Mormon Rebellion: America’s First Civil War, 1857-1858. This story describes how in 1857 President James Buchanan ordered U.S. troops to Utah to replace Brigham Young as governor and restore order in what the federal government viewed as a territory in rebellion. In this compelling narrative, Bigler and Bagley use long-suppressed sources to show that contrary to common perception the Mormon rebellion was not the result of Buchanan s blunder, nor was it a David-and-Goliath tale in which an abused religious minority heroically defied the imperial ambitions of an unjust and tyrannical government. They argue that Mormon leaders had their own far-reaching ambitions and fully intended to establish an independent nation the Kingdom of God in the West.
The Utah State Archives will observe Utah Archives Month throughout October with weekly events each Wednesday at noon. Classes geared to community and family historians will be offered each week. The statewide theme for 2009 is “Connecting With the Human Experience.”
