Editor in Chief Timothy Schaffert to participate in discussion on Nebraska Federal Writers’ Project Feb. 3

Timothy Schaffert, editor in chief of Prairie Schooner and Adele Hall Professor in the Department of English, will be part of a virtual discussion about the Federal Writers’ Project in Nebraska on Feb. 3rd at 12:30 p.m. CST on The People’s Recorder Podcast.

This special virtual event will build on the discussion started in The People’s Recorder podcast and will further explore the work and literary and cultural legacy of the Federal Writers’ Project in Nebraska, and how that speaks to Nebraskans today.

The panel discussion will feature The People’s Recorder co-producer/writer David A. Taylor, historian Stephen Cloyd, PhD and author Marilyn Holt (Nebraska During the New Deal), moderated by The People’s Recorder host and award-winning author and historian Chris Haley. In addition to Schaffert, the episode will also feature librarian Deb Arenz from Lincoln City Libraries.

Launched in 2024 and winner of a 2025 Silver Signal Award for Best History Podcast, The People’s Recorder is a national podcast on the 1930s Federal Writers’ Project. Part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the Federal Writers’ Project provided work for unemployed writers, editors, and other white-collar workers during the height of the Great Depression. The Writers’ Project had a mandate to produce state and city travel guides, and interview everyday citizens. It was perhaps the largest and most chaotic publishing venture in American history, and yet it produced over 200 publications, and its flagship travel guide series remains important for its firsthand views of life in America. The Nebraska guide was a notable success and state bestseller.

This moderated discussion will focus on the work of the Nebraska Writers’ Project and how that speaks to Nebraskans today. That includes the experiences of Rudolph Umland, a hardscrabble farmer turned editor, Weldon Kees, a hardware businessman’s son turned poet, and Ruby Wilson, a nurse who found a passion for recording first person history. We’ll also shine a light on acclaimed author of the Plains, Mari Sandoz, and University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) professor and founder of Prairie Schooner, Lowry Wimberly, whose influence was critical to the Project’s success.

The discussion is produced in partnership with Prairie Schooner and Lincoln City Libraries, with support from Humanities Nebraska.

This virtual event will be streamed live via YouTube. Find more info on The People’s Recorder website.