Studs Terkel Obituary

Author and “Scrapper” extraordinaire Studs Terkel died today, October 31 2008. He was known for hanging out in hotel lobbies and watching people. Who was a better listener? What could be a better life? Funeral tones and obituary gazes for the working class.

1. Studs Conversations with America.
2. Obituary on the nytimes
3. Obituary and biography on CNN.
4. Wikipedia, the peoples choice.

Studs Terkel quote: “I hope that memory is valued – that we do not lose memory.“. Reminds me of the two Norse ravens that sat on Odins shoulders, Huygen and Munin… otherwise known as thought, and memory. An old runic inscription as denoted by Snorri Sturluson goes something like this:

“I fear that one day Huygen shall depart, and I will know him no more..
Yet even more am I afraid that one day, Munin too shall leave…“

Amongst other interesting and highly unique points in his life? He joined the WPA Federal Writers Project where he did work writing and voicing soap operas.

Books he created:

1. Giants of Jazz (1957)
2. Division Street: America (1967)
3. Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression (1970)
4. Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do (1974).
5. Talking to Myself: A Memoir of My Times (1977)
6. American Dreams: Lost and Found (1983)
7. The Good War (1984)
8. Chicago (1986)
9. The Great Divide: Second Thoughts on the American Dream (1988)
10. Race: What Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About the American Obsession (1992).
11. Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who’ve Lived It (1995)
12. My American Century (1997)
13. The Spectator: Talk About Movies and Plays With Those Who Make Them (1999)
14. Will the Circle Be Unbroken: Reflections on Death, Rebirth and Hunger for a Faith (2001)
15. Hope Dies Last: Keeping the Faith in Difficult Times (2003)
16. And They All Sang: Adventures of an Eclectic Disc Jockey (2005)
17. Touch and Go (2007)
18. P.S. Further Thoughts From a Lifetime of Listening (2008)