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 Cedric Watson, a four-time Grammy-nominated fiddler, singer, accordionist, and songwriter. Watson is one of the brightest contemporary talents to emerge in Cajun, Creole and …
The popular essay often known as "You Are Quoting Shakespeare," suggests that many common phrases have their origin in Shakespeare's works. This post shows that most of those phases were proverbial folklore, known well before Shakespeare's time. It suggests that attributing them to Shakespeare is a form of what Stephen Jay Gould called a "Creation Myth," and that the credit for many of the phrases should go to ordinary speakers of English. It argues that part of Shakespeare's greatness lay in his ability to use such phrases to create natural dialogue.
We’re happy to announce a new venture in getting our stories out there! We’re working with No Depression, The Journal of Roots Music, which is published by the nonprofit Freshgrass Foundation. They’ll be publishing a column called Roots in the Archive, featuring content from the American Folklife Center and Folklife Today, over at their website. …
Episode seventeen of the Folklife Today Podcast (or Season 2, Episode 5) is ready for listening! In the episode, John Fenn and Stephen Winick talk about a campaign called "The Man Who Recorded the World: On The Road with Alan Lomax." It's an effort to crowdsource transcriptions Alan Lomax's fascinating field notes. Through this campaign, you can help out the Library of Congress and music fans worldwide by increasing access to Lomax's field notes through transcribing and reviewing pages. Anyone can get involved at the link provided in the blog. The podcast and blog feature music from throughout Lomax's career as well as descriptions of his notes.
Out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19, all Library of Congress buildings and facilities are closed to the public, and American Folklife Center staff are currently teleworking. In such uncertain times, we wanted to reassure our followers on social media, as well as those who use our collections and services in other ways, that we remain committed to serving the public as fully and as long as we can. Although most of us on the American Folklife Center staff have been staying away from our beloved Jefferson and Adams Buildings, we are on the job! In this blog, you'll find all the ways you can connect with us and enjoy our collections while you're staying safe at home.
This post was written with Nancy Groce, the coordinator of the Occupational Folklife Project for AFC. The American Folklife Center is delighted to announce that four new Occupational Folklife Project collections are now available on the Library of Congress website. They are “Working the Waterfront: New Bedford, Massachusetts;” “Funeral Service Workers in the Carolinas;” “Illuminating …
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 Vishtèn, an award winning Canadian band that performs both traditional and original Acadian music with rock energy. Their original “neo-traditional” compositions are based on …
