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Posted by: Stephanie Hall
In the summer of 1894 James Mooney, a scholar of American Indian culture and language, made recordings of songs of the Ghost Dance in several languages. The James Money Recordings of American Indian Ghost Dance Songs have recently been updated and are part of the presentation, Emile Berliner and the Birth of the Recording Industry. …
Posted in: AFC Events, Native American History, Religion
Posted by: Michelle Stefano
On September 29th and 30th, 2017, the Library of Congress is hosting “Reel Folk: Cultural Explorations on Film,” a series of free film screenings and discussions organized by the American Folklife Center. The films feature fascinating explorations of traditional culture in the U.S., focused particularly on cultural communities, traditional artists and their cultural practices in …
Posted in: AFC Events, Alan Lomax, Film
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post by Wendi Maloney of the Library’s Office of Communications. It is an excerpt of this longer post, which originally appeared on the Library of Congress Blog. Music scholar Nancy Yunhwa Rao will discuss her research and her new book at the Library of Congress at noon on August 9 …
Posted in: AFC Awards, AFC Events
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post by AFC Folklife Specialist Michelle Stefano. On Thursday May 11 at noon, the Library of Congress will host a screening of the documentary film, Mill Stories: Remembering Sparrows Point Steel Mill (36 min), in the Pickford Theatre of the Madison Building. Mill Stories shines an important light on …
Posted in: AFC Events
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post by Anastasia Nikolis, a graduate student intern in the Poetry and Literature Center and a PhD candidate in the English department at the University of Rochester. It originally appeared on the Poetry and Literature Center’s blog, From the Catbird Seat. Somehow it is the last week of April, which …
Posted in: AFC Events, Poetry
Posted by: Megan Harris
Although we often don’t like to admit it, much in life comes down to chance, luck and serendipitous encounters. In April 2014, I attended a panel presentation at the National Council on Public History Annual Meeting in Monterey, California, on the area’s military history. One of the presenters was Enid Baxter Ryce, an artist, filmmaker …
Posted in: AFC Events, Iraq War, Oral History, Students, Veterans History Project, World War II
Posted by: Stephen Winick
Note: This blog was updated in 2024 to add an oral history interview video, to convert it into a Homegrown Plus blog. Last Summer I profiled Billy McComiskey, Irish-American button accordion player, National Heritage Fellow, and leader in the east coast Irish traditional music scene. I promised to update our readers when the concert went …
Posted in: AFC Events, Celtic Music, Homegrown Concert Series, Homegrown Plus, Irish American History
Posted by: Stephen Winick
The following is a guest post by Todd Harvey, AFC’s Lomax collection curator. Portions of the post appeared in a short essay Todd contributed to the Haiti box set pictured below. In 2009, ethnomusicologist Gage Averill edited and compiled the CD box set Alan Lomax in Haiti 1936-1937, and wrote the accompanying Grammy-nominated notes. He …
Posted in: AFC Events
Posted by: Stephen Winick
On behalf of the American Folklife Center, I’m very sad to pass on the news of the death of our founding director, Alan Jabbour. Alan was a folklorist, fiddler, fieldworker, and friend of the highest caliber, and he will be missed at AFC and around the world. AFC’s current director, Betsy Peterson, expressed the feelings …
Posted in: AFC 40th Anniversary, AFC Events, AFC History, Alan Jabbour, Benjamin Botkin Folklife Lecture Series, Fieldwork, Folk Music, Folklorists, Obituaries