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Posted by: Nicole Saylor
This is a guest blog post by Todd Harvey, a Reference Librarian and curator of the Lomax collections at the American Folklife Center. The American Folklife Center announces long-awaited digital access to a tranche of Lomax family correspondence. It follows similar treatment for the Bess Lomax Hawes collection and the Alan Lomax collection. Most of …
Posted in: Alan Lomax, John Lomax
Posted by: Stephanie Hall
This time of year many people celebrate Festivus, an alternative holiday that is based on a single episode of the television show Seinfeld, “The Strike,” which aired on December 18, 1997. It is most commonly celebrated on December 23 or another date in December, but it can be celebrated at other times of the year. …
Posted in: Holidays
Posted by: Megan Harris
This is the sixth in a series exploring favorite Veterans History Project collections, chosen by the staff of the American Folklife Center (AFC) and the Veterans History Project (VHP) to be included in our new online exhibit celebrating 20 years of VHP. Each post in the series will offer “love letters” written by AFC and …
Posted in: Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Uncategorized, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Megan Harris
This is the fifth in a series exploring favorite Veterans History Project collections, chosen by the staff of the American Folklife Center (AFC) and the Veterans History Project (VHP) to be included in our new online exhibit celebrating 20 years of VHP. Each post in the series will offer “love letters” written by AFC and …
Posted in: African American History, Korean War, Narratives, Storytelling, Veterans History Project, Vietnam War, World War II
Posted by: Megan Harris
This is the fourth in a series exploring favorite Veterans History Project collections, chosen by the staff of the American Folklife Center (AFC) and the Veterans History Project (VHP) to be included in our new online exhibit celebrating 20 years of VHP. Each post in the series will offer “love letters” written by AFC and …
Posted in: African American History, Iraq War, Narratives, Oral History, Storytelling, Veterans History Project
Posted by: Stephen Winick
In the week or two before Christmas, staff members of the American Folklife Center engage in a dramatic, comedic, and musical performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress. The performance is based on traditional mummers’ plays, and allows us to put our research skills into play alongside our more playful impulses. This year, we realized we couldn't perform our mummers’ play live, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. We didn't want to let the pandemic defeat us, though, so we decided to do our play anyway--just in a different way. We've been recording our podcast, Folklife Today, remotely throughout the pandemic, we reasoned. So why not do the mummers' play as a podcast episode, sort of like an old-time radio play? The audio, play script, and photos are all here in this blog!
Posted in: christmas, Folk Drama, Mumming
Posted by: Megan Harris
This is the third in a series exploring favorite Veterans History Project collections, chosen by the staff of the American Folklife Center (AFC) and the Veterans History Project (VHP) to be included in our new online exhibit celebrating 20 years of VHP. Each post in the series will offer “love letters” written by AFC and …
Posted in: Veterans History Project
Posted by: Kerry Ward
This is the second in a series exploring favorite Veterans History Project collections, chosen by the staff of the American Folklife Center (AFC) and the Veterans History Project (VHP) to be included in our new online exhibit celebrating 20 years of VHP. Each post in the series will offer “love letters” written by AFC and …
Posted in: Narratives, Oral History, Persian Gulf War, Storytelling, Veterans History Project, Vietnam War, Women's History
Posted by: Megan Harris
Happy birthday, VHP! The Veterans History Project (VHP) officially turns 20 years old this year, and today we launch a new online exhibit as part of the festivities. Titled “Celebrating 20 Years of VHP: Staff Favorites,” the exhibit focuses on collections chosen by staff members of the Veterans History Project and American Folklife Center (AFC). …
Posted in: Veterans History Project