University of Texas Humanities Institute (Austin, Texas)

Biographical notes:

The University of Texas at Austin, Humanities Institute, sponsors of the Writing Austin’s Lives community initiative, began work on this “community discovery” initiative in 2003 under the direction of Humanities Institute Director, Evan Carton and Project Coordinator, Sylvia Gale.

The Humanities Institute started in 2001 with the mission of building intellectual and civic community by bringing the excitement of thinking and talking about things that matter down from the tower and out into the public sphere. Writing Austin’s Lives collected the history of Austin from “voices” across all zip codes in the community and Central Texas by inviting community members to submit brief personal stories using any language, form or style. The stories were invited on six different topics (1) my family’s history in Austin, (2) where I live, (3) the best day of my life, (4) what I really need, (5) my family’s most treasured possession, and (6) what I see when I look at Austin. Together the 947 stories collected from March through August of 2003 form a snapshot of life in all neighborhoods of the city. The records were housed and arranged by Ms. Gale and kept in her office prior to delivery to the Austin History Center in a special ceremonial event hosted by the Austin History Center Association (May 2004) that included readings of some of the stories by the authors.

The Humanities Institute entered into a publishing agreement with the Austin History Center Association’s publishing arm, Waterloo Press, to create a book using 127 of the stories and offered the book for sale to the public. Subsequent to the publishing of Writing Austin’s Lives: A Community Portrait, City of Austin Mayor Will Wynn selected the book as the Mayor’s Book Club selection for 2005. In addition, other spin-off event focused on the authors and stories using drama, readings in the parks, and special award events.

The University of Texas at Austin Humanities Institute sponsors other programs such as the Distinguished Lectures in the Humanities series, Texas Teachers as Scholars program, and annually has participated in the Mayor’s Book Club and helped create the web version of Writing Austin’s Lives titled Write On, Austin! The Humanities Institute is supported by the Friends of the Humanities Institute, grant funding, and through fund-raising activities.

From the guide to the Writing Austin's Lives Records AR. 2004. 031., 2003-2004., 2003., (Austin History Center. Austin Public Library, 810 Guadalupe, Austin, Texas, 78701.)