American Voices

From a permanent recording booth in New York's Grand Central Station and a mobile studio in a converted Airstream trailer, radio documentarian Dave Isay's StoryCorps project has been chronicling the stories of everyday Americans from all strata of life. Armed with a microphone, he travels coast to coast collecting stories from anyone willing to sit down and chat."I'm inspired by real life," he told ABC's Charles Gibson. "When you talk to the people who shine your shoes, those are the stories that matter." Each contribution he records is cataloged in the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress, and he chose a few for inclusion in his new book, Listening Is an Act of Love. It's not the first time StoryCorps has visited KC. The silver trailer recently gathered local African-Americans' accounts of the civil rights struggle. Isay will sign copies of the new book at tonight's 7:30 appearance at Unity Temple on the Plaza (707 West 47th Street, 816-561-4466). StoryCorps
Thu., Jan. 31, 2008