Studs Terkel has died at the age of 96.
Terkel’s work was to give a voice to the voiceless. He listened to, and wrote in the words of ordinary, uncelebrated people. Soldiers, waitresses, office workers. He was carefully attentive to the day-to-day. He brought voice to silence.
I read Working when I was about 14 years old. At the time, I had not held a job, nor been much out in the world of working people, so a lot of it went over my head. But I did understand that one essential thing, that everyone has a voice, that every one of the anonymous people who clear your dishes and weld your auto parts and dig your holes is a person with thoughts and hopes and rage and dignity. Just knowing that people are, in fact, people, is a radically humanist position.
The world needs a Studs Terkel, an advocate for the voiceless, and I hope we find one. May he be born again to us, and may his work live long after him, speaking for human dignity.
Damn. I regularly use selections from Working in the courses I teach, especially “Who Built the Pyramids.” For some reason, I never felt t my students could share my enthusiasm for Charlie Blossom.