An easy-to-use guide to American regional folklore with advice on conducting research, regional essays, and a selective annotated bibliography. American Regional Folklore begins with a chapter on library research, including how to locate a library suitable for folklore research, how to understand a library's resources, and how to construct a research strategy. Mood also gives excellent advice on researching beyond the library: locating and using community resources like historical societies, museums, fairs and festivals, storytelling groups, local colleges, newspapers and magazines, and individuals with knowledge of the field. The rest of the book is divided into eight sections, each one highlighting a separate region (the Northeast, the South and Southern Highlands, the Midwest, the Southwest, the West, the Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii). Each regional section contains a useful overview essay, written by an expert on the folklore of that particular region, followed by a selective, annotated bibliography of books and a directory of related resources.

Archie Green--shipwright, folklorist, teacher, and lobbyist--was a legendary figure in the field of American folklore and vernacular culture studies. An inspiration to a generation of students and scholars, Green was known for the remarkable passion, intelligence, and curiosity he brought to his explorations of everyday people, their communities, their work, and their forms of expression. This book gathers twelve essays intended to represent the range of Green's writings over forty years. Selections include a study of folk depictions in the art of Thomas Hart Benton, investigations of occupational and labor language, and a contemplative account of personal and political morality in the study of Appalachian musicians. In an afterword, Green traces his career and reflects on the state of folklore as a discipline. Woven through the foreword by Robert Cantwell is Green's biography, key to understanding his unique mix of activism and scholarship.

Paul Bunyan, Br'er Rabbit, Bluebeard, and Billy the Kid. These are just some of the many character alive today through folktales. A goldmine for students, storytellers, and general readers, this massive work gives easy access to the stories and legends that have captivated us for generations and continue to influence film, television, literature, and popular culture. The most ambitious undertaking of its kind, this collection conveniently groups American folktales by region and includes common and less familiar stories from a wide range of ethnic traditions. It also provides a generous sampling of electronic lore circulating on the Internet. Introductions, notes, appendices, and other helpful aids cover the fascinating background of these tales and bring them alive for students of history, literature, social studies, and the arts. Included are selections from various types of tales, such as legend, joke, tall tale, personal narrative, and myth, along with a generous sampling of electronic lore circulating on the Internet. Introductions, notes, appendices, and other aids link the tales to their origins and afterlives, so that students in social studies classes can learn about American history and culture, while literature students can learn about language, genres, and dialects.

"[Biography of the] celebrated organizer and agitator, the very soul of protest movements in the early twentieth century."--Jacket.