Gathering Stories: How to Create an Oral History

Get ready to think like a historian! Uncover your community’s rich, surprising stories that are just waiting for the right question.

Online, we’re swamped by fleeting stories of celebrities, and snappy soundbites that ‘make the cut.’ But what happens to the more in-depth stories that don’t fit into today’s content mold? Oral history offers a way to capture firsthand, lived memories that might otherwise fade from everyday life.

+ Transition beyond a basic interview’s who/what/where/when/why and collect more meaningful narratives.

+ Learn how to ask questions that invite deeper, meaningful responses.

+ Gain the skills to record and archive interviews so others can explore and engage with them.

+ Unlock the remarkable, one-of-a-kind perspectives that often stay ‘trapped inside’ the minds of your neighbors, parents, teachers, and role models.

The Eaton Fire demonstrated how swiftly we can lose mementos and physical traces of our past. You’ll leave this workshop prepared to ‘think like a historian’; one who understands that your community’s most rich, inspiring, and often-surprising stories are just beneath the surface, waiting for the right question.

This is a 3-Part workshop. Join us Mondays June 8, June 15 and June 22, 6:00–7:30PM. Let’s have fun!

About Dr. Katie Singer

Katie Singer has a Ph.D. in American Studies and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing. Over the last 20 years she has taught writing, literature, history and African-American studies. She relocated to California in 2020 where she is presently coaching boxing while working on her next book project on the Great Migration to Los Angeles. Her book, Alien Soil: Oral Histories of Great Migration Newark was published in August of 2024. She has also co-authored the memoir of previously incarcerated writer Maurice Tyree, entitled The Darkest Parts of My Blackness: A Journey of Remorse, Reform, Reconciliation, and (R)evolution. 

What is the Summer Storytelling Studio presented by Octavia’s Bookshelf?

The Summer Storytelling Studio presented by Octavia’s Bookshelf is designed for curious minds to play with a mashup of creative mediums. Get ready to tell your story your way, through cozy, three-part workshops led by local experts.

📝 Write it.

🧵 Quilt it.

💬 Trace its roots.

📸 Capture it.

🎨 Paint it.

📖 Remix it as a zine.

Thanks to the Mellon Foundation, Humanities in Place grant, this is the space for you to tap into creative, therapeutic avenues and document life before the Eaton Fire, reflect on its aftermath, and uplift your vision for the future.

No experience necessary. Just a space to try things, meet new people, follow your curiosity. Then leave with something special only you can create! Stay tuned throughout the summer for program dates.