The Unwritten Word: Voices, Verses, and the Living Archive of Oral History

History is often found between the lines of textbooks—breathed, sung, and passed down through the generations. While traditional archives rely on the permanence of ink and paper, our most vital cultural truths often exist in the spaces where memory meets oral traditions. The Unwritten Word invites you to explore the idea of oral history as a form of literature, a realm where the folklore, poetry, and cultural lineage converge to keep our communities’ stories alive.

This program brings together a group of experts and artists to discuss the art and importance of the spoken record. Historian Mark D. Naison, poet and sound artist LaTasha Diggs, writer and curator J. Faye Yuan, come together in a conversation moderated by oral historian Bridget Bartolini, to celebrate the power of the spoken word to reshape our understanding of the past and safeguard the legacies of our shared future.  From the stoops of Harlem to the steps of the library, we examine how the act of listening allows us to recover stories that might otherwise be lost to time.