New York State Folklife Reader: Diverse Voices

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index. Table of Contents: Introduction -- Memory -- Dynamics of New York's Folk Culture / Elizabeth Tucker -- Oral Culture and History Today / Joanne Shenandoah, Jack W. Gladstone, Linda Rosekrans -- Cities within the City: Ben Botkin's New York / Michael L. Murray -- Ritual and Storytelling: A Passover Tale / Barbara Myerhoff -- Comfort in Cloth: The Syracuse University Remembrance Quilt / Dee Britton -- Here Was New York: Memorial Images of the Twin Towers / Kay Turner -- Play -- I Saw Mrs. Saray, Sitting on a Bombalerry: Ralph Ellison Collects Children's Folklore in Harlem / Robert Baron -- Cultivating Courage through Play / Brian Sutton-Smith -- Emerging Traditions: Dance Performances of the Sudanese DiDinga in Syracuse / Felicia McMahon -- Flyin' High: Kite Flying from the Silk Road to Roosevelt Avenue / Elena Martinez -- Petanque in New York / Valerie Feschet -- Work -- Mediating between Two Worlds: The Sonideros of Mexican Youth Dances / Cathy Ragland -- In the Midst of a Monastery: Filming the Making of a Buddhist Sand Mandala / Puja Sahney -- Set in Stone: The Art of Stonework and Wall Building in Westchester County / Tom Van Buren -- An Ethnography of the Saratoga Racetrack / Ellen McHale -- Stand Clear of the Closing Doors! Occupational Folklore of New York City Subway Workers / Ryn Gargulinski -- Resistance -- Two Spirited People: Understanding Who We Are as Creation / Curtis Harris, Leota Lone Dog -- Camp Woodland: Progressive Education and Folklore in the Catskill Mountains of New York / Dale W. Johnson -- Employing Music in the Cause of Social Justice: Ruth Crawford Seeger and Zilphia Horton / Julia Schmidt-Pirro, Karen M. McCurdy -- Burning Messages: Interpreting African American Fraternity Brands and Their Bearers / Sandra Mizumoto Posey -- Food -- Wild Game Cooking / Kay Kennedy, Gus Hedlund, Edith Bills, Varick Chittenden -- Foodways / Lynn Case Ekfelt -- Free Market Flavor / Steve Zeitlin -- New York Folklore Archives -- A Calendar of New York Folic Festivals -- About the Contributors -- Index. Publisher Marketing: New York and its folklore scholars hold an important place in the history of the discipline. In New York dialogue between folklore researchers in the academy and those working in the public arena has been highly productive. In this volume, the works of New York's academic and public folklorists are presented together. Unlike some folklore anthologies, "New York State Folklife Reader" does not follow an organizational plan based on regions or genres. Because the New York Folklore Society has always tried to "give folklore back to the people," the editors decided to divide the edited volume into sections about life processes that all New York state residents share. The book begins with five essays on various aspects of folk cultural memory: personal, family, community, and historical processes of remembrance expressed through narrative, ritual, and other forms of folklore. Following these essays, subsequent sections explore aspects of life in New York through the lens of Play, Work, Resistance, and Food. Both the New York Folklore Society and its journal were, as society cofounder Louis Jones explained, "intended to reach not just the professional folklorists but those of the general public who were interested in the oral traditions of the State." Written in an accessible and readable style, this volume offers a glimpse into New York State's rich cultural diversity. Review Citations: Choice 03/01/2014 (EAN 9781617038631, Hardcover) Contributor Bio:  Tucker, Elizabeth Elizabeth Tucker, Binghamton, New York, is a professor of English at Binghamton University. She is the author of "Campus Legends: A Handbook"; "Haunted Halls: Ghostlore of American College Campuses" (University Press of Mississippi); "Children's Folklore: A Handbook"; and "Haunted Southern Tier". Contributor Bio:  McHale, Ellen Ellen McHale, Esperance, New York, is the executive director of the New York Folklore Society. She has also served as associate editor for folklore of the "Encyclopedia of New York" and has published in "Western Folklore". Contributor Bio:  Baron, Robert Robert Baron, Brooklyn, New York, directs the folk arts program of the New York State Council on the Arts. He is the co-editor, with Nick Spitzer, of "Public Folklore".