Oral history's dream of letting people speak for themselves is given a fascinating new treatment in Shelley Trower's new book. Savouring rather than worrying about the interplay between writing and oral history, she illuminates an often-overlooked history of successful, poetic, and politically attuned transcribers-from Henry Mayhew to Zora Neale Hurston to Svetlana Alexievich. A final chapter on what 'sound writing' means in the age of #MeToo and online trauma advises us on our responsibilities where writing and sound have become interchangeable. This book is an excellent addition to the oral history repertoire.
Shelley Trower is Professor Emeritus in English Literature at the University of Roehampton. Her books include Place, Writing, and Voice in Oral History; Senses of Vibration: A History of the Pleasure and Pain of Sound; and Rocks of Nation.
