A magical tour through the imaginary terrain of the comic imagination as revealed in children's lore, literature, folktales, travel lies, film comedies, cartoons, comic books, and folksongs. With 14 bandw illustrations. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Contains over 500 articles Ranging over foodways and folksongs, quiltmaking and computer lore, Pecos Bill, Butch Cassidy, and Elvis sightings, more than 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, and crafts; sports and holidays; tall tales and legendary figures; genres and forms; scholarly approaches and theories; regions and ethnic groups; performers and collectors; writers and scholars; religious beliefs and practices. The alphabetically arranged entries vary from concise definitions to detailed surveys, each accompanied by a brief, up-to-date bibliography. Special features *More than 2000 contributors *Over 500 articles spotlight folk literature, music, crafts, and more *Alphabetically arranged *Entries accompanied by up-to-date bibliographies *Edited by America's best-known folklore authority

Throughout the Americas, performances deriving from medieval European rituals, ceremonies, and festivities made up a crucial part of the cultural cargo shipped from Europe to the overseas settlements. In 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert sailed from Plymouth, England, to Newfoundland, bringing with him "morris dancers, hobby horses, and Maylike Conceits" for the "allurement of the savages" and the "solace of our people." His voyage closely resembled that of twelve Franciscan friars who in 1524 had arrived in what is now Mexico armed with a repertoire of miracle plays, religious processions, and other performances. These two events, although far from unique, helped shape initial encounters between Europeans and indigenous peoples; they also marked the first stages of the process that would lead—by no means smoothly—to a distinctively American culture. Ritual Imports is a groundbreaking cultural history of European performance traditions in the New World, from the sixteenth century to the present. Claire Sponsler examines the role of survivals and adaptations of medieval drama in shaping American culture from colonization through nation building and on to today's multicultural society. The book's subjects include New Mexican matachines dances and Spanish conquest drama, Albany's Pinkster festival and Afro-Dutch religious celebrations, Philadelphia's mummers and the Anglo-Saxon revival, a Brooklyn Italian American saint's play, American and German passion plays, and academic reconstructions of medieval drama. Drawing on theories of cultural appropriation, Ritual Imports makes an important contribution to medieval and American studies as well as to cultural studies and the history of theater.

For over 150 years, Irish playwrights, beginning with Dion Boucicault, have been celebrated by American audiences. However, Irish theater as represented on the American stage is a selective version of the national drama, and the underlying causes for Irish dramatic success in America illuminate the cultural state of both countries at specific historical moments. Irish Theater in America is the first book devoted entirely to the long history of this transatlantic exchange. Born out of the conference of the Irish Theatrical Diaspora project, this collection gathers together leading American and Irish scholars, in addition to established theater critics. Contributors explore the history of Irish theater in America from Harrigan and Hart, through some of the greatest and most disappointing Irish tours of America, to the most contemporary productions of senior Irish playwrights such as Brian Friel and younger writers such as Martin McDonagh and Conor McPherson. Covering the complexity of the relationship between Irish theater and the United States, this volume goes beyond the expected analysis of plays to include examinations of company dynamics, analysis of audience reception, and reviews of production history of individual works. Contents include: Mick Moloney, “Harrigan, Hart, and Braham: Irish-America and the Birth of the American Musical” Nicholas Grene, “Faith Healer in New York and Dublin” Lucy McDiarmid, “The Abbey, Its ‘Helpers,’ and the Field of Cultural Production in 1913” Christina Hunt Mahony, “’The Irish Play’: Beyond the Generic”