Studs Terkel, Dead at 96

Written by John Erianne on October 31, 2008 – 10:39 pm -

“I want a language that speaks the truth.”

“I think it’s realistic to have hope. One can be a perverse idealist and say the easiest thing: ‘I despair. The world’s no good.’ That’s a perverse idealist. It’s practical to hope, because the hope is for us to survive as a human species. That’s very realistic. ”

“Someone who does an act. In a democratic society, you’re supposed to be an activist; that is, you participate. It could be a letter written to an editor. “ — Studs Terkel

Noted American writer, historian and activist, Studs Terkel died peacefully in his Chicago home today. He was 96.

Terkel was born in New York City in 1912 to Russian-Jewish parents, but lived most of his life in Chicago. He earned a law degree from the University of Chicago, but was never a practicing lawyer. Instead, Terkel joined the Federal Writer’s Project working in radio as an actor and newscaster during the Great Depression. This eventually lead to him having his own long-running radio show which ran from 1952 to 1997. During the 1950s, he was among the writers blacklisted as a Communist sympathizer.

Studs Terkel is probably best known for bestselling, award-winning oral histories. Among them, Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression and “The Good War” which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize. In addition to his writing, Terkel was a passionate advocate for peace and social justice. He shall be missed.