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Tennessee
The American Folklife Center was created in 1976 by the U.S. Congress through Public Law 94-201 and charged to "preserve and present American folklife." The Center incorporates the Archive
of Folk Culture, which was established at the Library of Congress in 1928, and is now one of the largest collections of ethnographic material from the United States and around the world.
Collections
The collections of the American Folklife Center contain rich and varied
material from Tennessee that documents the diversity of the state's folk
traditions. Among its recordings are hundreds of hours of folksongs, including
African American and Anglo-American traditions; folk tales, including "Jack
tales" recorded in the 1930s; religious services, including tent revival
meetings, faith healing, and snake handling; shape-note singing; and recordings
of the Harmon Family of Cades Cove, who were relocated with other families
during the creation of Smoky Mountain National Park. The Center created
the plan for the folklife festival that took place at the 1982 Knoxville
World's Fair. Documentary material created in preparing this plan has been
incorporated into the collections of the Folklife Center.
In 2001 the American Folklife Center acquired the International Storytelling
Collection (AFC 2001/008). The International Storytelling Collection contains
manuscripts, sound recordings, graphic materials, moving images, electronic
media, and artifacts that relate to the storytelling revival of the 1970s
through the present. Based in Jonesborough, Tennessee, the International
Storytelling Center (ISC) and its predecessor organizations, the National
Association for the Preservation and Perpetuation of Storytelling (NAPPS),
and the National Storytelling Association (NSA) collected these materials.
Through the organization’s programming, such as the National Storytelling
Festival, the ISC has served as a focal point for the storytelling revival.
The Center's American Memory Project collections presented online include "Now
What a Time:" Blues, Gospel, and the Fort Valley Music Festivals, 1938-1943.
Approximately one hundred sound recordings, primarily blues and gospel
songs, and related documentation from the folk festival at Fort Valley
State College (now Fort Valley State University), Fort Valley, Georgia.
The documentation was created by John Wesley Work III in 1941 and by
Lewis Jones and Willis Laurence James in March, June, and July 1943.
Also included are recordings made in Tennessee and Alabama (including
six Sacred Harp songs) by John Work between September 1938 and 1941.
Tennessee participated in the Library's Bicentennial Local Legacies project,
which includes documentation of local traditions and celebrations for the
American Folklife Center's Archive of Folk Culture.
Concert Webcast
Tennessee performers have presented their traditions as part of the American Folklife Center's concert series at the Library of Congress. These performances have been recorded and accessioned into the Archive of Folk Culture.
September 13, 2006: Doyle
Lawson and Quicksilver. Bluegrass and Gospel music from
Tennessee. [webcast and event flyer]
Field Research Projects
- 1982 Knoxville International Energy Expo '82 Project.
- 1982 Ethnic Heritage and Language Schools (Jewish Day School). [catalog record][finding aid]
Publications
- "The Photographs of Maggie Lee Sayre: A Personal Vision of Houseboat
Life," Folklife
Annual 90. [catalog record]
Published Recordings
- Play and Dance Songs and Tunes, Library of Congress AFS L9. [audiocassette]
- Versions and Variants of "Barbara Allen," Library of Congress
AFS L54. [audiocassette]
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