Folklife Center News Winter 2002 • Volume Xxiv, Number 1
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FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS WINTER 2002 • VOLUME XXIV, NUMBER 1 American Folklife Center • The Library of Congress BOARD OF TRUSTEES ONLINE INFORMATION RESOURCES Congressional Appointees James F. Hoy, Chair, Kansas The American Folklife Center’s Kay Kaufman Shelemay, Vice-chair, Web site provides full texts of Massachusetts many publications, information Janet Brown, South Dakota about AFC projects, multimedia John Penn Fix III, Washington presentations of selected collec Mickey Hart, California tions, links to Web resources on William L. Kinney Jr., South Carolina ethnography, and announcements Judith McCulloh, Illinois of upcoming events. The address Charles E. Trimble, Nebraska for the home page is http://www. The American Folklife Center Presidential Appointees loc.gov/folklife/ An index of the was created in 1976 by the U.S. Maureen P. Cragin site contents is available at http:// Congress to “preserve and present Assistant Secretary for Public and www.loc.gov/folklife/afcindex.html American folklife” through pro Intergovernmental Affairs grams of research, documentation, The Web site for The Veterans Department of Veterans Affairs History Project provides an over archival preservation, reference ser Fran Mainella vice, live performance, exhibition, view of the project, an online “kit” Director, National Park Service publication, and training. The for participants recording oral his Sonya E. Medina Center incorporates the Archive of tories of veterans, and a brief pre Deputy Director of Projects Folk Culture, which was established sentation of some examples of video- Office of the First Lady in the Music Division of the Library and audio-recordings of veterans’ The White House of Congress in 1928 and is now one stories. The address is http://www. Neal A. McCaleb of the largest collections of ethno loc.gov/folklife/vets Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs graphic material from the United Department of the Interior The Folkline Information Ser States and around the world. Librarian Appointees vice is now a cooperative an Jane Beck, Vermont nouncement program of the Norma Cantú, Texas American Folklore Society and the Tom Rankin, North Carolina American Folklife Center. It is William H. Wiggins Jr., Indiana available only on the American STAFF Ex Officio Members Folklore Society’s server: www. afsnet.org. The service provides James H. Billington, Librarian of timely information on the field of Congress Administration folklore and folklife, including Lawrence M. Small, Secretary of the Peggy A. Bulger, Director training and professional oppor Smithsonian Institution Doris Craig, Administrative Assistant tunities, and news items of nation Vacant, Chairman, National John Lewis, Assistant to the Director al interest. Acquisitions Endowment for the Arts David A. Taylor, Acting Coordinator Bruce Cole, Chairman, National Processing and Cataloging Endowment for the Humanities Catherine Hiebert Kerst, Archivist Jack Santino, President, Judy Ng, Processing Technician American Folklore Society EDITOR’S NOTES Marcia Segal, Processing Technician Ellen Koskoff, President, Nora Yeh, Archivist Society for Ethnomusicology Guide to Women’s Programs Peggy A. Bulger, Director, Mary Hufford, Folklife Specialist American Folklife Center History and Culture Michael Taft, Folklife Specialist David A. Taylor, Folklife Specialist On the AFC Web site, you will Publications FOLKLIFE CENTER NEWS find Timothy Lloyd and Hillary Editor James Hardin, James Hardin, Editor Glatt’s 1993 edition of Folklife Public Events David A. Taylor, Editorial Advisor Theadocia Austen, Coordinator Resources in the Library of Con Andrew Wallace, Coordinator Sheryle Shears, Designer gress, which provides advice on Reference Peggy Pixley, Production where, in many different divi Jennifer A. Cutting, Folklife Specialist sions of the Library, a folklore Judith A. Gray, Folklife Specialist, Folklife Center News publishes ar ticles on the programs and activ researcher might discover use- Coordinator (Continued on page 19) Stephanie A. Hall, Automation Specialist ities of the American Folklife Cen Todd Harvey, Folklife Specialist ter, as well as other articles on Ann Hoog, Folklife Specialist traditional expressive culture. It is Veterans History Project available free of charge from the Cover: Florence Owens Thompson, Ellen McCulloch-Lovell, Director Library of Congress, American thir ty-two-year-old Native Ameri Peter T. Bartis, Project Manager Folklife Center, 101 Independence can farm worker from Oklahoma, Sarah Rouse, Program Officer Avenue, S.E., Washington, D.C. the subject of Dorothea Lange’s Janice Ruth, Program Officer 20540–4610. Folklife Center News famous series of photographs Virginia Sorkin, Program Officer does not publish announcements “Migrant Mother,” Nipomo, Califor Timothy Roberts from other institutions or reviews nia, 1936. Nearly three hundred of books from publishers other Administrative Officer images are included in American than the Library of Congress. Administrative Office Women, a new guide to the collec Fax: 202 707–2076 Readers who would like to com Reference Service ment on Center activities or tions of the Library of Congress. Tel: 202 707–5510 newsletter articles may address Farm Security Administration E-mail: [email protected] their remarks to the editor. photo, Prints and Photographs Division 2 Folklife Center News The National Folk Festival: The Sarah Gertrude Knott Years By Andrew Wallace “Theater of Nations” and a “Festival of The National Folk Fes- Nations.” In addition tival was the brain- to staging plays, the child of Sarah Ger- League hosted neigh trude Knott (1895– borhood talent pro 1984), a woman of grams. It was here that remarkable magne- Knott first recognized tism, vision, and the importance of tra dogged determina ditional music and tion. She founded the dance, noting that organization in 1933 audiences seemed to and remained as pro- prefer the fiddle tunes gram director until and ballads of recent 1970. Sarah Knott was arrivals from the born and raised in Ozarks, or folk songs Paducah, Kentucky, in and dances of the the western part of the Greek, Italian, and state. She grew up in a German immigrants, community that was to the dramatic pre- rich in traditional cul sentations. Out of this ture but, by her own experience, Sarah admission, never paid Gertrude Knott, and any particular atten those she drew tion to it in her youth. around her, created She seems to have the National Folk Fes- attended the Univer tival. “I began to think sity of North Carolina there might be a num for a brief period and ber of people in other then become involved states who would wel in community drama come the chance to at Chowan College. At sing, dance, and play this time she aspired together. Why not a to become an actress. National Folk Festi- Acting didn’t work val, bringing together out for her, but she groups from different came under the influ sections of the coun ence of Frederick try with their folk Koch and Paul Green Program for the 22nd National Folk Festival, Oklahoma City, music, dances, and of the Carolina Play- Oklahoma. Archive of Folk Culture plays, to see what the makers, who were story would tell of our experimenting with “folk” ma- Folk Festival Association for the people and our country? My terials in their productions, and first twenty years of its existence. part would be small; merely she ended up as state super- By the late 1920s, Knott had to find and bring together visor for Koch’s community moved to St. Louis, Missouri, those who had specialized in drama bureau. Green, a Pulit- where she founded and directed the various forms of folk ex zer Prize-winning playwright, the city’s dramatic league, pression, and their groups to well known for his produc- designed to meet the recreation- demonstrate” (“The National tion The Lost Colony, was to exert al needs of the poor and unem- Folk Festival, 1934–1936,” 50th a powerful influence on Knott ployed. Here she found a city National Folk Festival Program and the National Festival dur- rich in ethnic diversity. Using Book, pp. 12–13). ing its formative years. He Koch’s and Green’s precepts, Knott’s role was by no means was president of the National she staged productions of a a minor one. She was the driving Winter 2002 3 War I, he was fifty-four at he first National Folk the time, with a long career Festival was held April behind him, having been, 29 to May 2, 1934, in the among other things, man brand new three-thou- ager of Yankee Stadium. Tsand-seat Kiel Auditorium in St. Major Pickering kept the Louis. It was acclaimed critical organization and festival ly and received national pub on track for almost twenty licity. Just how revolutionary years, handling all the myr the event was, however, es iad business and logistical caped critics at the time, for the details while befriending format followed a time-honored board members and artists. revue form. Groups w e re p re He retired in 1951 and the sented on a large stage in short NFFA never quite recov sets, with scenic backdrop, a n d ered from the loss. there were matinee and eve Others included Allen H. ning performances. But revolu Eaton of the American tionary it was, the first multicul Foundation of the Arts and tural festival, and the event the Russell Sage Founda that defined this form of pre tion, who advised on mate sentation. In the words of Joe rial culture during the early Wilson, currently the executive years of the festival; Perci director of the National Council val Chubb, a leader in the for the Traditional Arts, “It Ethical Culture Movement, employed the first field worker who was an early activist in (Vance Randolph), invented the the Festival movement; and workshop, put the first craft Constance Rourke, a cul- demonstrations at festivals Sarah Ger trude Knott. NCTA Collection tural critic and historian (Eaton’s), mixed religious and who brought a group of secular presentations, and used force behind a new organiza Michigan lumberjacks to the scholars as presenters.