In 1936, author James Agee and photographer Walker Evans made literary history as they lived in sharecropper country as part of the New Deal–recording the lives of America’s poorest victims of the Great Depression. They ultimately produced Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, one of the most challenging studies of poverty ever written.
The 21st Century version of that book may begin on the web. As our country struggles through a new economic crisis, the Huffington Post has decided to build a citizen journalism section where Americans can tell their own stories about surviving this recession. Founder Arianna Huffington announced the project in an essay entitled, The Meltdown Will Be Blogged:
“Tell us your stories. Blogging about them and your feelings — including your anger, your fears, your hopes — is a great way to cope with the many personal, social, and professional dislocations that the hard times are producing. Losing your job — or even fearing that you might — can make you feel powerless. But at the same time you are looking for work – or learning a new skill – you can take up blogging.”