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Arkansas
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
materials from Arkansas that document the diversity of the state's folk
traditions. Among its unique recordings are Vance Randolph's vast and pioneering
collection of songs and folklore from the Ozark region (as well as a manuscript
collection of his fieldnotes and transcriptions); traditional tunes performed
by the "Ozark Mountaineers"; African American spirituals; fiddle tunes;
music and narratives of African American convicts in state prison farms
in Little Rock and Gould; and storytelling.
- Arkansas Folklore Field Recordings
in the Archive of Folk Culture [full text]
Arkansas 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
October 18, 2006: Sonny
Burgess and the Pacers. Rockabilly music from Arkansas. [webcast and concert flyer]
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