I am fascinated by this: >The FWP [Federal Writers' Project] was a work-relief program, and its primary mission was to help writers survive the Depression, whi

I am fascinated by this: >The FWP [Federal Writers' Project] was a work-relief program, and its primary mission was to help writers survive the Depression, while putting cash into circulation and contributing, however modestly, to the economic recovery. But it was also a literary endeavor of unprecedented scale. When the FWP was finally dissolved, along with the rest of the WPA, in 1943, Time magazine gave it the epitaph “the biggest literary project in history”—a claim that does not seem to be disputed. > ... the FWP managed to produce at least 1,000 publications and gather reams of unused material. (Some of these manuscripts, especially individual life histories and the testimonials of formerly enslaved people, would be treasured and interrogated by future scholars.) Each successful publication chipped away at assumptions about the FWP, proving that it was no hopeless boondoggle for failed writers and unimaginative hacks. Reviewers were generally impressed, finding that the books far surpassed their expectations. I'd be keen to see this sort of visionary thinking revived with the aim of restoring town hall/local journalism, currently in a parlous state now that newspapers no longer receive meaningful advertising revenues.