Folklore Matters

<p><b>Celebrates over a half-century of the work of one of America's greatest folklorists.</b></p><p><i>Folklore Matters</i> gathers over a half-century of articles memoirs field studies and more by master folklorist Bruce Jackson. Jackson's wide-ranging view of what makes up folklore his affection for his subjects and his keen-eyed ability to observe and record without prejudice stories songs and lore from everyone from death-row inmates to numbers runners hustlers and legendary blues musicians shines through. In his own words Jackson's essays bear witness to worlds that others have too easily ignored. This book includes Jackson's landmark work on prison lore and toasts (the predecessor of rap); labor and criminology; his wide-ranging interest in African American lore and legend; his encounters with legendary figures including Alan Lomax and Pete Seeger; and articles that challenge the many traps and pitfalls that plague much of academic study. <i>Folklore Matters</i> will delight inform and inspire all those who value America's deepest traditions and the endless creativity of the unrecognized masters of our national culture.</p>