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Notes on Interviews
- University Press of Mississippi
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Notes on Interviews 281 Notes on Interviews The interviews took place over a flve-year period, from 1999 to 2004, with a few in 1998. However, most individuals interviewed during the early years of the project were re-interviewed, with their information updated. People were interviewed over the phone and in person—on subways, in restaurants, and, in one case, at home after midnight. Interviews took place in flve-star hotels and in humble communes, at a TV station and on Capitol Hill. In one or two instances, an interview was done via e-mail; and the rare interviews that come directly from other sources (such as the Kent State University Oral History project) are annotated in the bibliography and in the text. Quotes from direct interviews were incorporated into the text itself and are so noted. Chapter 1: The Protesters Weathermen and Former Activists:These were done in 2003,mostly over the phone. The genesis for the interviews was The Weather Underground, an Oscarnominated documentary by Sam Green and Bill Siegel. Kent State: The bulk of these interviews were done in person at the thirtieth commemoration of the shootings at Kent State on May 4, 2000. A few were done over the phone. Jackson State: Some were done at Kent State and some were done over the phone. Chapter 2: Hardliners Traditional Conservatives, D.C. Conservatives: These were done in the spring of 2001 in Washington, D.C. By and large the interviewees were willing to share information, a vast departure from the security measures and fears fostered a few months later, after September 11. Thus, the interviewees were more open than they might be today. Notes on Interviews 282 Conservative and Veteran: These were done over the phone in 2001 and 2002, through extensive and cooperative referrals through the YAF network of associates and contacts. Chapter 3: Communes and Former Radicals Twin Oaks: Interview reprinted with permission from Melissa Sinclair. Commune–ists (the Farm): The interviews were done in May of 2003 (Memorial Day weekend) at the Farm, in Summerville, Tennessee. In addition to a “Communities Conference,” there was also a wedding of two established Farm families, described in the chapter. Refugees from Babylon (Rainbow Family): Sources came from a variety of places: newspaper accounts, referrals from colleagues, the Rainbow Web site, and, in one case, a book about the Rainbows. Interviews were done over the phone in 2003. Chapter 4: And It’s One, Two, Three Veterans Turned Anti-war Protesters, Draft Evaders/Deserters, Conscientious Objectors , Expatriates: These interviews, which were written up between 2000 and 2002, were a mixed bag of both face-to-face meetings and discussions over the phone. Some were a result of a visit to the expatriate community in Toronto, while others came about while researching conscientious objectors and other dissidents. As with the other chapter topics, there was an extensive network of referrals and cooperation. Chapter 5: Vietnam and Iraq Vietnam versus Iraq, Swing Generation: These seemed to be the most serendipitous of sources. James Abraham and Lillian Engel were contacts met through various aspects of my writing. Senator Chuck Hagel and his brother, Tom, and Kari Gunter-Seymour had been featured in my local paper, the Columbus Dispatch. Arlo Guthrie and the late Ossie Davis are well known in their own right. Peggy Hanna’s and Claude Anshin Thomas’s interviews came about as a result of press releases sent by their publishers. John Shinnick Sr. was the father of an earlier interviewee, John Shinnick Jr. Borderline “Jonesers” Generation X, Generation Y: Many of these interviews came about as a result of a “cattle call” and referrals from a writer’s listserve (Yahoo Groups, Work for Writers) on the Internet. The response was overwhelming, [44.200.74.73] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:34 GMT) Notes on Interviews 283 and many more people volunteered than were interviewed. All interviews took place in 2003 and 2004; most were done over the phone. Chapter 6: Friends and Peers Gone, but Not Forgotten (Myra Aronson): Most of the interviews took place in February 2003, the result of a trip to Boston to live a “day in the life” of Myra Aronson. Other interviews took place over the phone with the help of family and close friends who shared memories and information. Friends and Peers: The most long-ranging of the interviews (1999–2003), these took place everywhere, from a reunion at Ohio University (Tom Locke) to the Virginia Festival of the Book...