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Archive: April 2019 (13 Posts)

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Five Questions with Mike Farrar, Los Angeles Region American Red Cross & VHP Volunteer

Posted by: Kerry Ward

The following is a guest blog post from American Red Cross Long Beach Chapter’s Veterans History Project Director, Mike Farrar in honor of National Volunteer Month. Tell us about yourself. My name is Mike Farrar, and I joined the American Red Cross as a volunteer back in 2008 to serve as one of the leads …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

D-Day Journeys: Charles Norman Shay

Posted by: Megan Harris

June 6, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies’ famed invasion of the beaches of Normandy. In honor of this momentous occasion, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is publishing a special series of blog posts revealing hidden facets of D-Day illuminated within VHP’s collections. This post is the fifth in a six-part series, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

From Behind the Lines to Between the Lines: War Poems and Beyond

Posted by: Kerry Ward

The following is a blog post in honor of National Poetry Month. While walking the halls of the Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, it is not difficult to be inspired by the Lyric Poetry Hall.  I have often wondered what artists and poets have ventured through these halls for the past 122 years. Were …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Folklife at the International Level: The Roots of ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ Part VI, World Heritage

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

In honor of World Intellectual Property Day, let’s get back into the realm of global cultural heritage, particularly with respect to the idea of heritage as property. In the last post, I unknotted the notion of death (via globalization and homogenization) from the tangle of concepts, values, and disciplinary legacies known as ‘intangible cultural heritage’ …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Intern reflection: Brittney Meadors

Posted by: John Fenn

This is a guest blog post from Spring 2019 intern Brittney Meadors working at the American Folklife Center. Brittney is a first year graduate student at Howard University pursuing a Masters degree in Classical Voice and certification in International Affairs. Her internship was initiated by Dr. Carla Hayden (Librarian of Congress) and Dr. Wayne A. …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

D-Day Journeys: Nurses on the Ground and in the Sky

Posted by: Megan Harris

June 6, 2019, marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Allies’ famed invasion of the beaches of Normandy. In honor of this momentous occasion, the Veterans History Project (VHP) is publishing a special series of blog posts revealing hidden facets of D-Day illuminated within VHP’s collections.  This post is the fourth in a six-part series, …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Recent updates to the Ethnographic Thesaurus reflect needs of power users

Posted by: John Fenn

This is a guest post by folklorist and AFC archivist, Kelly Revak. Among her many other responsibilities at the Center, Kelly oversees revisions and updates to the Ethnographic Thesaurus. The AFS Ethnographic Thesaurus is a living language resource that needs constant maintenance to reflect current concepts and usage in ethnography, while at the same time providing stable …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Homegrown Plus: Onnik & Ara Dinkjian: Armenian Song

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

In the Homegrown Plus series, we present Homegrown concerts that also had accompanying oral history interviews, placing both together in an easy-to-find blog post. (Find the whole series here!) We’re continuing the series with a concert and oral history with Armenian American musicians Onnik and Ara Dinkjian. Onnik Dinkjian, 89 years old at the time …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Bidding Blue Skies and Tailwinds to the Last of the Doolittle Raiders

Posted by: Kerry Ward

Just days shy of the 77th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid, Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” Cole, the sole surviving Doolittle Raider, flew west this morning. He was 103 years old. I had the great privilege of working with Cole at airshows and through veteran services. We laughed over him telling my father he was getting …