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Category: Folklorists

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

Alabama Folklorist Ruby Pickens Tartt

Posted by: Stephanie Hall

If asked her about her profession, Ruby Pickens Tartt (1880-1974) would say that she was a painter. In an era when Alabama women rarely attended college, she graduated from the Chase School of Art in New York and painted and taught painting for much of her life. But folklorists consider her one of their own. She was …

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

Hidden Folklorists: Allan and Joan Pinkerton

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This post is part of the series Hidden Folklorists. In the series Hidden Folklorists, we’ll profile people who have a surprising connection to folklife and folklife scholarship; surprising, because many of them are famous for other activities. From the earliest days of the discipline, folklife scholarship, in both senses of “collecting folklore materials” and “performing …

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

Memories of Alan Jabbour in the Field: Visiting the Hammons Family

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This recollection is in memory of the Center’s founding director, Alan Jabbour, who died on January 13, 2017, and whose career and contributions are described in this blog post.  Today’s text and photographs are by Carl Fleischhauer, a retired American Folklife Center staff member and a colleague of Alan’s for 46 years. Alan Jabbour and …

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

Caught My Eye: Nagra Field Recorder

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: This is a guest post by John Fenn.  John is the new head of the Research and Programs section of the American Folklife Center. My first weeks here at the American Folklife Center have been a whirlwind of meetings, trainings, and orientations to all aspects of the Library of Congress. As I’ve wandered through …

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

Alan Jabbour 1942 – 2017

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 …

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

St. George and the Arrearage Monster: A Mumming in Process

Posted by: Stephen Winick

Note: Every year, in the week of the Library’s holiday party, staff members of the American Folklife Center put our research and performance skills into play, bringing collections to life in a dramatic performance that tours the halls of the Library of Congress.  Dressed in costumes that range from striking to silly, we sing, act, …