NPR: Signs of Faith in the American Landscape

Signs of Faith in the American Landscape

Producer Roy Hurst recently put together a segment on a new book called Bible Road: Signs of Faith in the American Landscape. He shared these thoughts about the piece:

I recently had a chance to produce a conversation between Farai and photographer Sam Fentress about his book Bible Road. If you look at the NPR.org webpage for the segment, you'll notice that it also includes a video version of what you heard on-air supplemented by images from Fentress' book.

It's kind a of a first for our program. We've had slide shows before but never a video presentation. Sometimes cool things come across your desk and inspire you to say, "This has to be described." In the this case it was more like: "Lets SHOW some of it."

When I was putting this together I spoke with Mr. Fentress by phone. I was always asking for more stills. (The video doesn't show the half of them.) He and I ended up having an interesting conversation about whether or not the makers of these signs were "zealots" Mr. Fentress didn't think so, and I couldn't help but think that he was uncomfortable with such a loaded word.

Thing is, I am not a Christian, and yet, at the same time, I was inspired by the passions expressed within the photos.

But I would also like to throw the question back to the audience. What do you think? Does it take zealot to paint signs like these?

Gary Dauphin

8:26 PM ET | 05-25-2007 | permalink

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This segment, already powerful as an audio presentation, really came to life with the online video version. How about giving the Sly & the Family Stone 40th Anniversary interviews similar treatment? Still pix and video of the band edited to illustrate the audio would really enhance what we've heard so far!

Sent by AW | 6:04 PM ET | 05-28-2007

Roy Hurst and I had several interesting conversations while he was laying the groundwork for the interview with Farai. Various people have told me it is the best thing done on the book so far because of her comments and the good questions she asked.
I love the cool video Roy put together of Farai turning the pages of Bible Road with our conversation as the soundtrack. If it had a music track I wish it could be my favorite recording, Coltrane's "A Love Supreme".
Roy raised the question as to whether the people who put these signs and messages out in the landscape are zealots.
I have tried to document the impact of the Bible on ???The Road???. As for the people who write these messages along the road, I think of them in terms of something the photographer Frederick Sommer said to explain why he made such strange, intense photographs of dead animals in the desert, raw chicken parts, or a severed human foot.
Sommer said "The desperate are the greatest image makers." I think some of the people driven to put these messages out into the landscape are impelled by something like the urge that drives great artists, the urge that drove Coltrane to the heights of musical expression.
That mixed with a sense of just doing the business they hear themselves told by Jesus to do in a passage in Matthew's gospel that reads "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit".

Sent by Sam Fentress | 6:49 PM ET | 06-01-2007

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