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

Outgoing Archive Director Leaves Big Shoes to Fill

Posted by: Stephen Winick

From late December 2012 through early June 2021, Nicole Saylor led a team of archivists, ethnomusicologists and folklorists that curates the nation’s largest ethnographic archives. She worked to preserve the American Folklife Center’s collecting legacy while accelerating the transformation of an already well-established archives for the digital age. She recently took a position at the Library as the Chief of the Digital Innovation Lab, a position established to lead the Library’s innovation with digital collections and to support its digital transformation. As she began her new position, we interviewed her about her time at AFC.

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

Summer Festivals and Celebrations

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Summer solstice was traditionally a time of revelry as the end of planting and the beginning of summer were celebrated. As the summer crops ripen, the fruit of the labor of planting is celebrated in various ways, especially the harvest of staple crops. The grain and hay harvests in late July and early August is …

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

“God put the good stuff where lazy people can’t have any”: Exploring West Virginia Foodways in a New AFC Film Series

Posted by: Michelle Stefano

The following is a guest post by West Virginia State Folklorist Emily Hilliard, who directs the West Virginia Folklife Program, based at the West Virginia Humanities Council. AFC staff have been working with Emily, as well as Mike Costello and Amy Dawson of Lost Creek Farm, to co-produce the Homegrown Foodways in West Virginia program, …

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

Langston Hughes on the Folklife Today Podcast

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Season 3, Episode 8 of the Folklife Today Podcast is ready for listening! Find it at the link from this post to the Library’s website, or on Stitcher, iTunes, or your usual podcatcher. In this episode  John Fenn and I, along with guests Langston Collin Wilkins and Sophie Abramowitz, look at Langston Hughes as a “Hidden Folklorist.” As usual, I'll present links to the relevant blog posts and audio selections in this post!

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Inside Out: Memories from Inside the Closet

Posted by: Kerry Ward

The following is a guest blog post by Dr. Circe Olson Woessner, Director of the Museum of American Military Family and Learning Center in Tijeras, New Mexico. June is Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month.  This month-long celebration demonstrates how LGBTQ+ Americans have strengthened our country by using their talent and creativity …

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

Puertorriqueños de Estados Unidos: Identity, Arts, and Culture

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

Puerto Rico is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean. Puerto Rican migration to the mainland United States has largely been driven by economic necessity, whether of individuals’ needs to earn more to support themselves and their families, or large scale economic events such as the Great Depression and other …

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

A Deep Dive Into Sea Shanties

Posted by: Stephen Winick

We couldn't help notice that sea shanties have been getting a lot of attention lately. The American Folklife Center has one of the greatest collections of sea shanty field recordings in the world. This blog post provides an introduction to sea shanties, including links to audio, video, and texts of many songs in the American Folklife Center's collections. It's lavishly illustrated with photos and artwork depicting ships, sailors, and singing. It covers the history of shantying and the different kinds of shanties for different tasks, and emphasizes the African American and Afro-Caribbean contributions to shanties. It also provides a link to our new podcast on sea shanties. There are even guest appearances by Bruce Springsteen and Thomas Hampson. Don't miss it!