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Posted by: Stephen Winick
The American Folklife Center (AFC) at the Library of Congress is pleased to announce the 2018 recipients of its three competitive annual fellowships and awards programs: the Archie Green Fellowships; the Gerald E. and Corinne L. Parsons Fund Award; and the Henry Reed Fund Award. This year, these three competitive awards went to nine researchers …
Posted in: AFC Awards
Posted by: Megan Harris
Maybe you saw their photo on our homepage recently. Arms akimbo, the two men look at the camera straight on, wearing matching aviator sunglasses and khaki uniforms and with twin grins on their faces. A tent peeks out from behind them. Who are they? These two newcomers to our website were captured on film a …
Posted in: African American History, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Mermaids are among folklore’s most beloved magical creatures, especially among children. Usually depicted as beautiful women with long, fishy tails, they’ve captured the imagination of many kids, and a few adults too. Most youngsters, and most parents, are aware of the sympathetic character from the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale The Little Mermaid, and its …
Posted in: Bluegrass, Folksong, Old Time Music
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post from Tom Rankin, a member of the AFC Board of Trustees. A folklorist and photographer, Tom is Director of Duke University’s MFA in Experimental and Documentary Arts, and was formerly the Director of the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke. Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who held his seat from …
Posted in: AFC History
Posted by: Lisa Taylor
It might have been her eyes. Perhaps it was that hint of a knowing smile. Or maybe it was the culmination of it all—torso leaning in, chin on fist, legs crossed, nails polished and hat tilted. Whatever it was, it grabbed my attention when I first saw the sepia-toned image several years ago. Its subject …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Civil Rights, Exhibits, Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This blog post is part of a series called “Hidden Folklorists,” which examines the folklore work of surprising people, including people better known for other pursuits. King David Kalākaua (1836 – 1891) is often known outside of Hawai’i by his nickname, the Merrie Monarch, so-called for his patronage of Hawaiian music, dance, and culture. He …
Posted in: Hawaiian Americans, Hidden Folklorists, Pacific Islander History, Pacific Islands Americans
Posted by: Megan Harris
In 1942, Stewart Fulbright was a man on a mission: he desperately wanted to become a pilot in the Army Air Corps. Just shy of the weight requirement of 125 pounds, he gulped down half a dozen bananas on his way to his physical exam, only to find out that a lengthy written exam was …
Posted in: African American History, African Americans, Korean War, Oral History, Veterans History Project
Posted by: John Fenn
This is a guest post by Marcia Segal, a Processing Archivist at the American Folklife Center. Legendary blues singer Mississippi John Hurt’s song “Avalon Blues” appears on numerous recordings in the Tom Hoskins collection: “…Avalon, my hometown, always on my mind…” Hurt first recorded the song in 1928. In 1963, musician and blues music fan …
Posted in: Blues
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
On May 4, 1903, a prominent and well-respected attorney and U. S. commissioner, James Buchanan Marcum, was shot and killed on the steps of the Breathitt County courthouse in Jackson, Kentucky. “The J. B. Marcum Song,” more widely known as “The Ballad of J. B. Marcum,” preserves the memory of this important Kentucky citizen and the …
Posted in: Folksong