A Minnesota PBS Initiative
Tim O'Brien & Lynn Novick on the Power of Storytelling
In partnership with Macalester College, TPT hosted master storytellers Tim O’Brien (Vietnam veteran, author of "The Things They Carried," and featured in THE VIETNAM WAR) and filmmaker Lynn Novick (THE VIETNAM WAR) for a conversation on the power of sharing stories and honoring diverse experiences. The dialog, facilitated by retired journalist and Vietnam veteran Don Shelby, inspired attendees to share their own stories, some for the very first time.
The event took place at Macalester College in St. Paul on October 18th, 2017, and over 11,000 were reached via the live Facebook stream of the conversation. The event included an opportunity to share stories on camera for The Story Wall, a question and answer session with Tim and Lynn, and a post-event book-signing.
EVENT SLIDESHOW
Audience gathered at the event
Their visit inspired other opportunities for story-sharing and connection both on and off of the Macalester campus- including a second event with Tim O'Brien and Marlon James at Macalester for students, a story-gathering event called Mac Talks '68 with 40 members of the Macalester Class of 1968 at their reunion (Tim O'Brien was class president), a feature with Lynn and Tim on TPT's Almanac, and a video for History Day students featuring documentary film-making tips from Lynn Novick.
COMMUNITY FEEDBACK
“Tim's comment about "abandoning volition" resonated with me because I had an experience similar to his story of crossing a bridge under fire. His comments helped me make sense of my experience in a way that I had not been able to do before.”
-Vietnam veteran
“War was not discussed in our home. Tim O'Brien and Lynn Novik have opened a conversation that should have started 50 years ago, but thankfully begins now. Marines, sailors, and soldiers don't start wars, senators and congressmen do. Telling the story of Vietnam in an 18 hour series proves my brother didn't die in vain. Thank you! You'll never know how many Gold Star families you have helped heal.” (comment edited for length)
-Gold Star Sister
“The discussion helped me toward devising a way to share my Vietnam experiences with my family, who have not been all that interested hearing about it, but who have also said that I won't talk about it.” -Vietnam veteran
Tim O'Brien and Lynn Novick at Macalester College
Stories are for joining the past to the future. Stories are for those late hours in the night when you can't remember how you got from where you were to where you are. Stories are for eternity, when memory is erased, when there is nothing to remember except the story.
Message from TPT President & CEO Jim Pagliarini
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Jim Pagliarini President + CEO TPT - Twin Cities PBS:
I’d like to welcome Tim O’Brien back to his home state of Minnesota and to his alma mater, Macalester College. A few years ago, we hosted a lively conversation with Ken Burns and Don Shelby – and we are so fortunate to host Lynn Novick at this special event. We thank both of you for your courage in tackling the epic, divisive, complex story of the Vietnam War.
Storytelling is the mechanism that fires the beating heart of TPT every day, in all of the work that we do. And we are deeply honored to welcome two visionary storytellers into our fold. Your work has ignited a fresh, thoughtful conversation about the haunting legacy of the Vietnam War.
While the traumas of the war happened 50 years ago, our individual and collective memories have stamped our present experience. In helping to foster much-needed understanding, you are empowering others to give voice to their own experiences. We thank you for that.
To expand on the epic Vietnam War documentary by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, Twin Cities PBS launched Minnesota Remembers Vietnam, a collaboration between the state’s six public-television stations, that zeroes in on the gripping experiences of Minnesota veterans, protesters, refugees, and family members. The multi-faceted initiative features an online Story Wall, additional documentaries, and a series of events that seek to more fully remember, honor, and understand the Vietnam War.
Thank you to Macalester for your partnership, Don Shelby for moderating this conversation, the generosity of those who support our Minnesota Remembers Vietnam initiative, TPT members, our MPTA partners across the state, Florentine Films for powerfully illustrating our American history, and to WETA for station engagement grants that make events like this one possible.
REMEMBER. HONOR. UNDERSTAND.
LYNN NOVICK, Co-Director of "THE VIETNAM WAR"
BIO
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For nearly 30 years, Lynn Novick has produced and directed Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning films and top-rated PBS productions. These include Prohibition, Baseball, Jazz, Frank Lloyd Wright and The War. The Vietnam War, co-directed by Ken Burns, documents one of the most divisive, consequential events in American history. This 360-degree exploration features testimony from 100 witnesses, both American and Vietnamese, including soldiers and civilians from winning and losing sides. Lynn is currently creating a biography of Ernest Hemingway and College Behind Bars, about prisoners earning rigorous liberal arts degrees through the Bard Prison Initiative.
TIM O'BRIEN, author of "The Things They Carried"
BIO
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Minnesota native, Tim O’Brien, served for two years in Vietnam, between earning degrees from Macalester and Harvard. “The Things They Carried” employs verisimilitude to blur between the two realms of fact and fiction in the Vietnam War. His approach in combining “story-truth” and “happening-truth” creates emotionally rich and meaningful literature. O’Brien wrote a number of war experience novels, earning National Book Awards for “Northern Lights” and “Going After Cacciato.” Placed in Minnesota, “In the Lake of the Woods,” won the James Fenimore Cooper Prize for Best Historical Fiction. Tim’s impact is known through gripping emotional stories, for his love of teaching, and for his appearance in The Vietnam War.
Biographical Details
Submitted From: St. Paul, MN
Story Subject: Civilian
Affiliate Organization: Macalester College
Story Themes: Don Shelby, Event, Ken Burns, Lynn Novick, Macalester College, Marlon James, Storytelling, The Vietnan War, Tim O'Brien
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