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Two views of a Green Man on the exterior of St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg (Nürnberg), Germany. The carving shows a man's face with branches emerging from his mouth, growing into a bush that surrounds his face with large flowers.

What Was the Green Man?

Posted by: Stephen Winick

This is our second post about the Green Man, a figure from traditional folk culture. It traces the meaning of the phrase "Green Man" from the 16th to the 20th centuries, providing a wealth of historical references to "green men," which were wild men covered in leaves, often armed with clubs. The post is richly illustrated with appearances of the Green Man in paintings, sculptures, engravings, and other artworks.

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!