NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Federal Writers' Project

The Federal Writers' Project (FWP) was a United States federal government project to fund written work and support writers during the Great Depression. It was part of the Works Projects Administration, a New Deal program. It was one of four New Deal arts programs known collectively as Federal One. Download high resolution version (417x640, 41 KB)WPA Big This image is a book cover. ... Download high resolution version (417x640, 41 KB)WPA Big This image is a book cover. ... Bold text // Link titleSmall TextSubscript textSubscript textSuperscript textStrike-through textSEX The Great Depression was a worldwide economic downturn which started in October of 1929 and lasted through most of the 1930s. ... The Works Progress Administration (later Works Projects Administration, abbreviated WPA), was created on May 6, 1935 with the signing of Executive Order 7034. ... Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: New Deal For other uses of New Deal and The New Deal, see New Deal (disambiguation). ... Categories: Historical stubs | New Deal ...

Background

Established in July 27 1935, the Federal Writers' Project (FWP) operated under journalist and theatrical producer Henry Alsberg, and later John D. Newsome, compiling local histories, oral histories, ethnographies, children's books and other works. The most well-known of these publications were the 48 state guides to America (plus Alaska Territory, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.) known as the American Guide Series. The American Guide Series books were compiled by the FWP, but printed by the individual states, and contained detailed histories of each state with descriptions of every city and town. The format was uniform, comprising essays on the state's history and culture, descriptions of its major cities, automobile tours of important attractions, and a portfolio of photographs. Federal courts Supreme Court Chief Justice Associate Justices Elections Presidential elections Midterm elections Political Parties Democratic Republican Third parties State & Local government Governors Legislatures State Courts Counties, Cities, and Towns Other countries Politics Portal A state of the United States is any one of the fifty subnational entities of the... Alaska Territory was an organized territory of the United States from August 24, 1912 to January 3, 1959, when Alaska became the 49th state. ... Nickname: DC, The District Motto: Justitia Omnibus (Justice for All) Location of Washington, D.C., in relation to the states Maryland and Virginia Coordinates: Federal District District of Columbia - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty (D) - City Council Chairperson: Vincent C. Gray (D) Ward 1: Jim Graham (D) Ward 2: Jack Evans...

FWP was particularly charged with employing writers, editors, historians, researchers, art critics, archaeologists, geologists and cartographers. Some 6,600 individuals were employed by the FWP. In each state a Writer's Project non-relief staff of editors was formed, along with a much larger group of field workers drawn from local unemployement rolls. Many of these had never graduated high school, but most had formerly held white collar jobs of some sort. Most of the Writer's Project employees were relatively young in age, and many came from working-class backgrounds.

Not surprisingly, many FWP writers supported both the labor movement and left-wing social and political themes. A few were overt Marxists or Communists. At the time, the rise of fascism, the emerging labor movement, and opposition to Roosevelt administration policies by conservative critics seemed to many WPA artists as a time to take a stand. Most Writers' Project works were apolitical by their nature, but some histories and ethnographies consciously or unconsciously chose to influence current political and social debates through their writing. Some of these projects were strongly opposed by some state legislatures, particularly the American Guide Series books, and in a few states Guide printings were kept to a minimal number of copies. The labor movement (or labour movement) is a broad term for the development of a collective organization of working people, to campaign in their own interest for better treatment from their employers and political governments. ... Marxism is the political practice and social theory based on the works of Karl Marx, a 19th century philosopher, economist, journalist, and revolutionary, along with Friedrich Engels. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... Fascism is a political ideology and mass movement that seeks to place the nation, defined in exclusive biological, cultural, and/or historical terms, above all other sources of loyalty, and to create a mobilized national community. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ...

Among the thousands who worked on the project were Conrad Aiken, Nelson Algren, Nathan Asch, Arna Bontemps, John Cheever, Kenneth Rexroth, John Steinbeck, Studs Terkel, and Richard Wright. Blakey (2005) estimates that at any one time the Indiana office had fewer than 150 men and women on the payroll. Fieldworkers made about $80 a month, working 20 to 30 hours a week. A majority were women. Very few African Americans worked for any state project. As Blakey notes, "there were very few on the relief rolls who claimed literary expertise in the 1930s, so the FWP had few to choose from." (Blakey p. 42). Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5, 1889 â€“ August 17, 1973) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, born in Savannah, Georgia, whose work includes poetry, short stories and novels. ... Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (March 28, 1909 - May 9, 1981) was a legendary American writer. ... Arna Bontemps, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1939 Arna Wendell Bontemps (October 13, 1902 _ June 4, 1973) was an American poet and part of the Harlem Renaissance. ... John Cheever (May 27, 1912â€“June 18, 1982) was an American novelist and short story writer, sometimes called the Chekhov of the suburbs. ... Kenneth Rexroth (December 22, 1905 â€“ June 6, 1982) was an American poet, translator and critical essayist. ... John Ernst Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 â€“ December 20, 1968) is one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. ... Photo of Studs Terkel by Robert Birnbaum Louis Studs Terkel (born May 16, 1912) is an American author, historian and broadcaster. ... Richard Wright is the name of several people, including: Richard Wright, African-American author Richard B. Wright, Canadian author Richard Wright, keyboard player with Pink Floyd Richard Wright, England football goalkeeper Richard Wright, American politician This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might... ISO 4217 Code USD User(s) the United States, the British Indian Ocean Territory[1], the British Virgin Islands, Cambodia, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Panama, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the insular areas of the United States Inflation 2. ...

The overriding goal of the FWP was simply employment, but the project produced useful work in the many oral histories collected from residents throughout the United States, many from regions that had previously gone unexplored and unrecorded.

Federal sponsorship for the Federal Writers' Project came to an end in 1939, though the program was permitted to continue under state sponsorship until 1943.

Famous FWP participants

Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5, 1889 â€“ August 17, 1973) was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American author, born in Savannah, Georgia, whose work includes poetry, short stories and novels. ... Nelson Algren Nelson Algren (March 28, 1909 - May 9, 1981) was a legendary American writer. ... Bellow as depicted in his Nobel diploma. ... Maxwell Bodenheim (May 26, 1891 â€“ February 6, 1954) was an American poet and novelist. ... John Cheever (May 27, 1912â€“June 18, 1982) was an American novelist and short story writer, sometimes called the Chekhov of the suburbs. ... Loren Eiseley, 1907-1977, was a highly respected anthropologist, science writer, and poet who published a number of books in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. ... Ralph Ellison (March 1, 1913[1] â€“ April 16, 1994) was a scholar and writer. ... Vardis Fisher (Annis, Idaho, USA, 1895-1968) was a writer best known for historical novels of the old west and the monumental twelve-volume Testament of Man, novels which depicted episodes in the history of humans from cave man times to the present. ... Zora Neale Hurston (January 7, 1891 â€“ January 28, 1960) was an American folklorist and author during the time of the Harlem Renaissance, best known for the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. ... Harry Weldon Kees (February 24, 1914- presumed dead July 18, 1955) was an American poet, critic, novelist and short story writer. ... Claude McKay. ... John Ernst Steinbeck (February 27, 1902 â€“ December 20, 1968) is one of the best-known and most widely read American writers of the 20th century. ... May Swenson (May 28, 1913 - December 4, 1989) was a United States poet and playwright. ... Richard Nathaniel Wright (September 4, 1908 â€“ November 28, 1960) was an American author of novels, short stories and non-fiction. ... Frank Garvin Yerby (September 5, 1916 - November 29, 1991) was an African American historical novelist. ...

Titles in the American Guide Series

Cities

States

Regions and territories, etc.

Contents

Background

Famous FWP participants

Titles in the American Guide Series

Cities

States

Regions and territories, etc.

Further reading

External links

Contents

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Famous FWP participants

Titles in the American Guide Series

Cities

States

Regions and territories, etc.

Further reading

External links

Background