Rural Voices Radio, Volume I

“To say [Rural Voices Radio] is powerful radio is an understatement…it should be an inspiration to our listeners, and perhaps more important, a great inspiration to our staff…We MUST air this program!”

—Steve Robinson,
Manager of Nebraska Public Radio

That’s what Steve Robinson, Manager of Nebraska Public Radio said when he heard the Nebraska Writing Project’s Rural Voices Radio tape. The Nebraska program, “A Harvest Time, Writing our Places,” is one of six radio programs that the Rural Voices, Country Schools (RVCS) network produced as part of the Annenberg Rural Challenge project. The spoken anthology also contains programs from Central Washington, Third Coast Michigan, Southeastern Louisiana, Southcentral Pennsylvania and the Northern Arizona Writing Projects.

Rural Voices Radio I: Writing About the Places We Call Home, released in June 2000, transports listeners to the unique and diverse landscapes of rural America through the original writings of students and their teachers in the six Rural Voices, Country Schools sites. Each site’s program is distinctive—from Louisiana’s bayous and crawfish to the arid hills of Moses Lake, Washington—the CD anthology offers a glimpse of the countryside and celebrates what’s genuinely good in America’s rural schools.

Building on the Rural Voices, Country Schools theme of bringing student voices and student writing to the public, NWP released the CD set to public radio stations across the country. The response to the programs overwhelmingly positive. Now, they are available to stream and download on our Soundcloud channel.

CD 1—Arizona and Louisiana

CD 2—Michigan and Nebraska

CD 3—Pennsylvania and Washington