I need help with a "personal history" project.

Does anybody know a website or other source for the kinds of questions one would ask an older person in order to get them talking about their life?

I know I have seen things like this, but I wonder if there is a website for it or maybe I should ask you all to help compile some questions.

THEN I need help translating them into Spanish.

This is a project that I should have got going on a couple of months ago, and I sure hope I'm not too late, but the basics are a VERY poverty-stricken childhood so lame stuff like "what was the name of your childhood pet?" or "what clubs were you a member of in high school?" or "what fraternity did you pledge to in college" aren't going to cut it.

This person became a fantastic artist in his own right, but has always lived in the shadow of a more famous brother, so all the videos and books and stories are always about the brother. Nicolas needs to have his story told too.This project not just about his story getting recorded, it is also about his family getting to know things they may not about his creative process and what drove him. Finally, it is a bit of occupational therapy because he is losing his eyesight and can no longer do his life's work. He was so depressed when we were there in October. One of the things that kind of cheered him up was to get him talking about the kinds of things that need to get recorded!

I was thinking more of things like "what work did you do before pottery?" I know he an his brother WALKED 120 miles to cross illegally at least once so I wonder how many times and where he worked here.

Where he met his wife. Trips to the US for exhibitions - actually that stuff might be available from other sources, but anyway trying to set up the conditions where a man's family can interview him when he feels like it or they have time. I'm thinking I will have to provide a recording device of some kind, but not sure how much access/familiarity with digital they have so maybe cassettes (in fact I think I have a good one somewhere I could send)

Anyway, anybody got any leads for me? I'm not organized or creative enough for this stuff.

http://dohistory.org/on_your_own/toolkit/oralHistory.html

He sounds like an amazing guy.

For translating, contact Elizam Escobar here. He may be interested and able to help. (PM me if you want info about Elizam.)

http://www.eap.edu/

This is a wonderful project if you have the time to do it.

that is exactly what needs to be done. the problem is I can't get down there again for a while and I'm not sure the family has quite this high of a literacy level. (and I'm not so great at the kinds of questions to ask, definitely need more help there too)

It is a bit awkward. I am sure Nicolas is not literate, but no idea of the sons. We were thinking they could probably make hand written notes as he spoke but then I thought tapes might be so much easier and he has done "public performances" (pottery demonstrations), so while he is very shy he has overcome it in certain circumstances. So I think he might be able to get over a tape recorder on the table faster than I would! heh

I hope you do this. You're whetting my appetite. You've reminded me of many fascinating unknown people I've met whose memory will end with my synapses.

entropy's ultimate "success" is loss of information

Great project. :hi:

it's coming up with some good leading questions first!

Either of himself or his artwork. Great starting point to ask about what is going on in the photos.

:thumbsup:

he is losing eyesight so that is a bit of an issue, but the family can verbally describe some of them if he can't see

there aren't many from the early days (REAL poverty)

it's the questions - I want to send a list for them to be able to ask and get him started talking - hopefully as rug suggested, they will sit around the table and start talking, (and have a recorder running) but when there is a lull, he tends to shut down and then the conversation kind of stops - if there was a new topic/question maybe he would keep going. I don't know.

If I could get back down and do it I would still need a list of questions LOL, I tend to drift to silence too.

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told. Good for you!