Talking about Remembering and Forgetfulness in Oral History Interviews

In this article, the author seeks to open a discussion of explicittalk about remembering in oral history interviews. He exploresways of talking about remembering and forgetfulness in oralhistory interviews and the effects of such talk on the interviewrelationship as well as on the process of recall itself. Thearticle provides examples of collaborative remembering betweenthe narrator and the interviewer, the recall of specific detailsand reports of exceptional clarity of memory as well as justificationsof faulty memory. Reported speech in oral history narrativesis considered as a clear case of constructing as opposed toremembering the past. Throughout, the author frames questionsconcerning the significance of talk about remembering and forgetfulnessfor the evaluation of the events and personal identities expressedin the oral history interview.