African-American Traditions in Song Sermon Tale and Dance 1600s-1920

As any well-organized carefully annotated bibliography does this work by Southern and Wright brings order out of chaos. The 2328 entries identify books articles sermons pamphlets and broadsides among other formats all centered on black folk culture with emphasis on the manifestations of that culture from 1600 to 1920 through song dance games sermons and illustrations. . . . This carefully done and useful bibliography is recommended for libraries on all campuses where there is an interest in the black experience. ChoiceAfrican-American Traditions in Song Sermon Tale and Dance is undeniably the most valuable resource available to scholars engaged in Afro-American folk culture research. An untapped wealth of primary information has been chronologically cataloged within this comprehensive annotated guide. It covers a period of over 300 years of African-American cultural history in the United States. Materials fall into three categories: literary publications iconographical records and collections of song tale and sermon texts. Focusing on folk culture 2328 items were chosen for their historical relevance as well as to insure broad representation. Eileen Southern and Josephine Wright''s bibliography provides researchers with the tools needed to shatter myths and stereotypes and to form concise theses supported by extensive evidence.The bibliography is divided into four major chronological sections: Colonial-Federalist Antebellum Post-Emancipation and Early Twentieth Century. A fifth section The WPA Slave Narrative Collection includes materials (collected in the 1930s) that are essential to a serious discussion of American slavery. Within these five sections materials are classified as literature artwork and/or collections. Literature and artwork subsections are further divided into social activities religious experience song and tale. Iconographical entries often compliment the literary ones and some themes run throughout the book. The materials are indexed by names of authors and artists by subject and by first lines of songs.