The
narratives in
this collection
were made possible
by a wide network
of interviewers,
transcribers,
researchers,
and interns
who donated
their time and
energy to the
cause.
In the late
summer of 2005,
Voice of Witness’s
series editors,
Dave Eggers
and Lola Vollen,
put out an open
call for volunteers
interested in
collecting stories
from survivors
of Hurricane
Katrina. The
response was
overwhelming.
Hundreds of
concerned students,
teachers, writers,
editors, and
photographers
were eager to
help. Volunteers
in New Orleans,
Houston, Austin,
and Atlanta
began conducting
interviews with
hurricane survivors
and sending
their tapes
back to the
Voice of Witness
office in San
Francisco.
A majority of
the interviews
were conducted
by Stacy Parker
Aab, a writer
in Houston,
and Lola Vollen,
who traveled
the Gulf Coast
interviewing
displaced New
Orleanians.
Many of these
initial interviews
took place at
the Disaster
Recovery Center
in Houston,
or at the homes
of the interviewees.
Each person
was then reinterviewed
by a Voice of
Witness editor.
The interviews
ranged in length
from two to
eight hours.
A small group
of dedicated
and meticulous
interns and
volunteers transcribed
each interview,
and the transcripts
were returned
to the interviewee.
The editors
then shaped
each transcript
into a clear,
chronological
narrative. In
most cases,
this process
involved paring
a raw transcript—on
average, the
transcripts
were about 30,000
words—down
to a narrative
of about 10,000
words. In no
cases were any
changes made
to the context
or meaning of
the narrators’
words. The edited
versions were
then sent to
the narrators
for approval.
The editors
of Voice of
Witness are
dedicated to
presenting the
stories of the
interviewees
as accurately
as possible;
the only way
to ensure this,
we feel, is
to involve the
interviewees
throughout the
process. The
changes requested
by the narrators
were generally
limited to those
involving factuality
and grammar.
In addition
to receiving
the approval
of the narrators,
the stories
in Voices from
the Storm were
fact-checked
against news
reports, primary
source documents,
and weather
reports. Many
of the materials
used in the
fact-checking
process can
be found in
the appendices
of this book.
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