Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Federal Writers' Project [Hardcover]

Jerrold Hirsch (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807828173 | ISBN-13: 978-0807828175 | Publication Date: September 26, 2006

How well do we know our country? Whom do we include when we use the word "American"? These are not just contemporary issues but recurring and seemingly permanent questions Americans have asked themselves throughout their history-and questions that were addressed when, in 1935, the Roosevelt administration created the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) under the aegis of the Works Progress Administration. Although the immediate context of the FWP was work relief, national FWP officials developed programs that spoke to much larger and longer-standing debates over the nature of American identity and culture and the very definition of who was an American.

Hirsch reviews the founding of the FWP and the significance of its American Guide series, considering the choices made by administrators who wanted to celebrate diversity as a positive aspect of American cultural identity. In his exploration of the FWP's other writings, Hirsch discusses the project's pioneering use of oral history in interviews with ordinary southerners, ex-slaves, ethnic minorities, and industrial workers. He also examines congressional critics of the FWP vision; the occasional opposition of local Federal Writers, especially in the South; and how the FWP's vision changed in response to the challenge of World War II. In the course of this study, Hirsch raises thought-provoking questions about the relationship between diversity and unity, government and culture, and, ultimately, culture and democracy.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A fascinating study."
—Journal of American Folklore

"A provocative and thoughtful book."
— Washington Post Book World

"Jerrold Hirsch's first-rate Portrait of America will change the way we think about the Great Depression years. A truly landmark study."
— Douglas Brinkley, University of New Orleans

"A thoroughgoing study of the ideas and ideology motivating the leadership of the FWP. . . . Well-organized and gracefully written."
— Journal of Southern History

"A fascinating study. . . . Hirsch is most concerned with tackling the difficulties in understanding and championing racial and cultural diversity in the U.S."
— Journal of American Folklore

Product Details

• Hardcover: 328 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (September 26, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807828173
• ISBN-13: 978-0807828175
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,366,876 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of Hirsch's Research, August 26, 2007

By 

grasshopper4 (Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Federal Writers' Project (Paperback)

"Portrait of America" takes a bit different approach to the history of the FWP. Rather than focusing on the range of writers, topics, genres, and other features of the era, Hirsch provides us with a cultural history of the project. His main focus is on ways in which selected writers, administrators, and governmental officials were working with the tension between romantic nationalism and cultural pluralism that Hirsch regards as a central problem within New Deal ideology. Hirsch uses a wealth of new and largely under-used resources -- including unpublished archival records -- to provide fresh insights into the motivations and ideologies that are part of this era's politics of culture. The history is especially interesting when Hirsch looks at how the competing ideologies are given different spins during different eras. Hirsch's analysis is most valuable when he demonstrates how older questions about representing American culture, history and identities remain part of the contemporary discourse into our 21st Century. The book fills a needed gap for researchers interested in FWP writers' attention to American folklore, social history, and various vernacular forms of expressive culture. It also provides an excellent historical context for understanding an important part of the foundation of organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and a variety of other national, state, and local agencies that are rooted in New Deal politics.

3 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of America: A Cultural History..., September 22, 2004

By 

Pete Rabinowitz (NJ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Federal Writers' Project (Paperback)

I completely agree with the previous reviewer. The author has such a cursory knowledge of the subject matter its hard to believe this book got published. The FWP's history is easily available, why didn't the author do his research properly? These 'revisionist' writer's shouldn't be allowed to publish such rubbish. Save your money.

2 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Fed..., September 22, 2004

By 

Dave Gilchrist (MO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Portrait of America: A Cultural History of the Federal Writers' Project (Paperback)

I've never read such a poorly written and researched book in my entire life. The author is a complete revisionist. He has such a poor knowledge of History it boggles the mind!

Readers!- Save your money and search out better resources concerning the subject matter.