compiled by workers of the Writers' Program of the Work Projects Administration in the State of Arkansas ; with a new introduction by Elliott West. 1st pbk. ed.

Arkansas's rich folk tradition is shown by the variety of its manifestations: a 250-year-old ballad, an archaic method of hewing railroad crossties with a broadax, the use of poultices and toddies to treat the common cold, and swamps of evil repute are all parts of the tradition that constitutes Arkansas folklore. In fact, as the essays selected by W.K. McNeil and William M. Clements show, these few examples only begin to tell the story. Starting with a working description of folklore as "cultural material that is traditional and unofficial" and characterized by a pattern of oral transmission, variation, formulaic structures, and usually uncertain origin, the authors survey in detail a wide array of folk objects, activities, beliefs, and customs. Among the rich offerings in this sourcebook are a discussion of the history of folklore research in Arkansas, an examination of some of the traditional songs and music still being preformed, a thoughtful exploration of the serious side of "tall tales" and "windies," an investigation of folk architecture in Arkansas and what it reveals about our cultural origins, a study of many traditional foods and there preparation methods, an analysis of superstitions and beliefs, and a description of festivals and celebrations that are observed to this day. Complemented by biographies of reference works and audio and video recordings of the state's folk materials, An Arkansas Folklore Sourcebook is the first complete guide to the study of one state's "unofficial culture."

Includes eye-opening information on yarb doctors, charms, spells, witches, ghosts, weather magic, crops and livestock, courtship and marriage, pregnancy and childbirth, animals and plants, death and burial, and more.

Vance Randolph has long been an undeniable presence on the American folklore scholarship scene. His Ozark corpus is "the best known single body of regional folklore in the United States," according to Richard Dorson, director of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University. And Gershon Legman, the world's leading scholar of sexual and scatological humor, has called Randolph "the greatest and most successful field collector and regional folklorist that America ever had." In Legman's estimation, "We have no one else like him. He is a national treasure, like Mark Twain. Randolph's reputation rests on the massive accumulation of folksong, folktale, and ballad materials he collected during forty years of living and working in the Ozarks. Unfortunately, in the 1950s when Randolph published several collection of Ozark tales, the material in this volume was considered unprintable. Pissing in the Snow departs from the academic prudery that until recently has restricted the amount of bawdy folklore available for study. It presents a body of material that for twenty years has circulated only in manuscript or microfilm under its present title. When placed in their rightful context alongside Randolph's other collections of folk material, the bawdy tales help provide evidence of what Ozark hill people think about their own lives and language. As Rayna Green writes in her introduction, "The entire body of material . . . offers a picture of expressive behavior unparalleled by any other American region's or group's study." Hoffmann's annotations draw parallels between the erotic narrative tradition of the Ozarks and that in other parts of the country and the world, especially Europe.

Continuing the success of the nationally acclaimed Haunted America, Historic Haunted America is a further investigation into North American ghost legends. This chilling collection documents yesterday's and today's most terrifying hauntings in the United States and Canada in more than seventy-five shocking stories! At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The engine's piercing whistle blast and the rhythmic beat of metal wheel upon metal rail in 1881 were the recognizable sounds of progress and prosperity for many wishing to push west across the American expanse. The advent of the railroad in the nineteenth century gave birth to hundreds of communities, and Rogers was one such town created by the extension of this iron network across a changing national landscape. Set upon the Ozark Plateau, Rogers evolved from a hunting ground of the Osage Indians into a bustling railroad stop, attracting scores of new people and industry into the northwest corner of Arkansas. With over 100 black-and-white illustrations, Rogers: The Town the Frisco Built documents the development of the community from its Native American roots to the present day and remembers the many people and events that shaped the town's unique identity and heritage. Exploring the downtown streets, residences, and businesses of yesteryear, readers will meet men like Charles Warrington Rogers, the general manager of the St. Louis and San Francisco Railroad and the town's namesake; W.H. "Coin" Harvey, a Liberty Party 1932 Presidential candidate and somewhat eccentric, local entrepreneur; and local resident Betty Blake, who was the wife and biographer of humorist and political satirist Will Rogers. Their contributions, combined with other stories of celebrated families and distinguished citizens, bring to life many elements of Rogers' remarkable history: a world of saloons, one-room schoolhouses, churches, resorts, apple orchards, chicken farms, the Daisy Manufacturing Plant, and Wal-Mart.

A collection of the total range of scholarly and popular writing on English as spoken from Maryland to Texas and from Kentucky to Florida The only book-length bibliography on the speech of the American South, this volume focuses on the pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, naming practices, word play, and other aspects of language that have interested researchers and writers for two centuries. Compiled here are the works of linguists, historians, anthropologists, sociologists, and educators, as well as popular commentators. With over 3,800 entries, this invaluable resource is a testament to the significance of Southern speech, long recognized as a distinguishing feature of the South, and the abiding interest of Southerners in their speech as a mark of their identity. The entries encompass Southern dialects in all their distinctive varieties—from Appalachian to African American, and sea islander to urbanite.

This guide book is a bibliography of books about the American West by various authors, compiled by the literary critic J. Franck Dobie. The list is subdivided along themes associated with the different aspects of life in the West such as Native American culture, Spanish influences, French influences, Texas Rangers, Missionaries, Women pioneers and Mountain men culture, among others. Each aspect is preceded by a brief discussion of the topic before the list of books themed on the subject.