Come Soul, I Have Need of Thee

January 12th, 2009 by Rob | Posted in Uncategorized |

Folk singer Kendall Morse woos his partner, Jacqui.

Photo by Jen Leahy, courtesy the Salt Archive.

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“… To most journalists honored with the job of remembering the stories of the tribe, (the) momentous events of everyday life are virtually invisible. To most American journalists, such events are akin to the dark and unknown matter believed to make up 90% of the universe: We keep reporting the movement of the planets when the big news is the unseen matter in which they spin.

At best, most journalists are oblivious to reporting the incredible human beauty and subtlety that surround them. At worst, they militantly oppose reporting what they are untrained to discern and describe. But, either way, readers are being denied a look at much of the world they inhabit.

In the language of the craft, we’re missing the story.”

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Washington Post feature writer Walt Harrington wrote that passage in his 1997 book Intimate Journalism: The Art and Craft of Reporting Everyday Life. Harrington eloquently captures much of Salt’s approach to journalism and storytelling. And, for this Saltcast, we present a new radio feature that I believe exemplifies intimate journlism for radio. It was produced by Jud Esty-Kendall in the fall of 2008 and it’s called “Come Soul, I Have Need of Thee.”

(The story is about Maine folks singer and humorist Kendall Morse. I’ve posted a couple of Kendall’s songs below because they are hard to come by.)

Ciao, Rob

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Kendall Morse – “Satisfied Mind”

Kendall Morse – “Rolling Home”

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Podcast: Download (Duration: 12:12 — 16.8MB)

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