Revisiting Akenfield: forty years of an iconic text

Abrams, L. (2009) Revisiting Akenfield: forty years of an iconic text. Oral History, 37(1), pp. 33-42.

[img]
Preview
Text
6210.pdf

163kB

Publisher's URL: http://www.oralhistory.org.uk/journals/journal_indexes/37A1.php

Abstract

Ronald Blythe’s Akenfield, now forty years old, is generally acknowledged as one of the most influential books in the field of oral history. First published in 1969, Akenfield is a classic which still has the power to move the reader with its unsentimental, straightforward descriptions of a rural life that was hard, unremitting and something to be endured. This evocative portrait of life in an East Anglian village illustrated the potential for a new kind of history which told the stories of ordinary folk in their own words. To the twenty-first century reader it is a powerful description of a world we have lost. In this article I want to revisit Akenfield as a classic of British oral history, to examine how its reception and use has mirrored trends in oral history practice in the UK, and to reposition it as a text which can have a lot to say to oral historians today. For 40 years Akenfield has acted as a lightning rod, attracting criticism and praise in equal measure but always reflecting the obsessions of the oral history community. Akenfield should not just be seen as an exemplar of a certain kind of oral history practice that was path-breaking and yet not quite professional enough as some have intimated. Rather, I suggest that it can still teach us a lot about how to write history using oral narratives and dare I say it, offers a masterclass in the writing of a history which speaks to its readership.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Abrams, Professor Lynn
Authors: Abrams, L.
Subjects:D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History
D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
College/School:College of Arts & Humanities > School of Humanities > History
Journal Name:Oral History
Publisher:University of Essex
ISSN:0143-0955
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2009 Oral History Society
First Published:First published in Oral History 37(1):33-42
Publisher Policy:Reproduced with the permission of the publisher.

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record