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Posted by: Stephen Winick
The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce the recipients of its fellowships and awards for 2015. This year, AFC awarded support to eight researchers or teams in six states and the District of Columbia. To find out how to apply for next year’s awards, please visit our research awards …
Posted in: AFC Awards, AFC Events, Archie Green, Blanton Owen, Gerry Parsons
Posted by: Lisa Taylor
June 14, 2015 marks the United States Army’s 240th birthday. Let that sink in. The U.S. Army has been around longer than light bulbs, steam locomotives, the U.S. Constitution and the Library of Congress. For nearly two and a half centuries, valiant soldiers have given selfless service to our nation, placing themselves in harm’s way …
Posted in: Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: The whole AFC staff was saddened by the death of Jean Ritchie earlier this month. We paid tribute to her immediately in a Facebook post, which you can see here, and the Chairman of our Board of Trustees, C. Kurt Dewhurst, made a moving statement about Jean at the Board’s June meeting. However, I …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, Cultural Heritage, England, ethnomusicologists, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, Games, George Pickow, Jean Ritchie, Women's History
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The American Folklife Center is pleased to announce the arrival of our new traveling exhibit, Treasures from the American Folklife Center Archive. The exhibit is a series of lightweight, colorful vinyl banners containing information about the American Folklife Center, the Library of Congress, and (as the title suggests) some of the treasures found in our …
Posted in: AFC Events, AFC History, Alan Lomax, Exhibits, Homegrown Concert Series
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
The earliest East Asian immigrants often had a difficult journey making their way to the United States. Many carried little with them but the cultural traditions they knew, such as language, stories, religious customs, foodways, music, song, and dance. Chinese Americans Chinese immigrants, mainly Cantonese speakers from Guangdong, were among the first Asians to come …
Posted in: Asian American History, Cultural Heritage, Dance, Folk Music, Folksong, Foodways, immigration, Religion
Posted by: Megan Harris
In a satisfying moment of blog synchronicity, while we at the Veterans History Project are celebrating the accomplishments of our volunteer interviewers, another LC blog is focusing on student interviewers–specifically, those at Harlem High School in Machesney Park, Illinois. In a blog post on Teaching With the Library of Congress, Harlem High School teachers Nick …
Posted in: Veterans History Project
Posted by: Megan Harris
The following is a guest post by Monica Mohindra, Head of Program Communication and Coordination, Veterans History Project. Did you ever work or live someplace that had inspiring quotes or poetry on the walls? “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” These evocative words from Maya Angelou have graced the …
Posted in: Veterans History Project
Posted by: Stephen Winick
At the American Folklife Center, researchers come from around the world to study our unparalleled documentation of traditional culture. But sometimes, they don’t even have to come here. Occasionally, new discoveries by our staff are so exciting or so curious that we feel prominent researchers need to know. For this reason, our reference librarians keep …
Posted in: AFC Events, Alan Lomax, ethnomusicologists, Folk Music, Folklorists, Folksong, Photographs
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest blog post by Dom Flemons, a musician and singer who currently tours and records as “The American Songster.” Dom was one of the founders of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, with whom he has played at the Library of Congress’s Coolidge Auditorium, and with whom he won a GRAMMY Award. Dom …
Posted in: AFC History, African Americans, Alan Lomax, Civil Rights, Lead Belly (Huddie Ledbetter), Pete Seeger