Here, grounded firmly in American history, is a skilled folklorist's survey of the entire field of America's folklore—from colonization to mass culture. Tracing the forms and content of American folklore, Mr. Dorson reveals the richness, pathos, and humor of genuine folklore, which he distinguishes from the "fakelore" of popularizers and chauvinists. At the same time, however, he shows what the creation of spurious folklore (the Paul Bunyan legends, for instance) discloses about our national character. Based upon authentic field collections and research, the examples cited include folkways, jests, boasts, tall tales, ballads, folk and legendary heroes. "His volume enlarges our understanding of the American past and present through an empirical survey of the extant folk traditions and it also provides us with the means for appreciating what is valuable in these folk traditions."—Virginia Quarterly Review

American Folklore (The Chicago History of American Civilization)

Politics & Social Sciences

Dorson, Richard M.

Social Sciences

University of Chicago Press

This anthology of regional folklore displays the abundance, humor, and continuing vigor of the American oral tradition. The collection explores rich and distinctive lore of Maine Down-Easters, Pennsylvania Dutchmen, Southern mountaineers, Louisiana Cajuns, Illinois Egyptians, Southwest Mexicans, and Utah Mormons. Their tales, songs, riddles, proverbs, games, superstitions, and customs provide a wealth of living folklore presented here as it was recorded in the field. And this unvarnished folklore fact—retains the spicy flavor of authentic narrative, told in the vernacular of the skillful folk storyteller.

Buying the Wind: Regional Folklore in the United States

<div>The traditions of narrative, song, belief, custom, and world view reflect undercurrents of history long ignored by the professional historian preoccupied with famous personalities and national events. Yet, in recent years, chiefly through the work of America's most distinguished folklorist Richard M. Dorson, American historians have become increasingly aware of the rich possibilities of folklore and of the millions of Americans left in obscurity because their history is expressed in elusive oral traditions. American Folklore and the Historian presents a theoretical and methological complement to Mr. Dorson's many field studies and narrative histories of American folklore. These essays&#8212;unique in their comprehensiveness, originality, and vigorous good sense&#8212;discuss techniques and concepts with which the historical scholar must familiarize himself in making use of folk sources. They present a theory of folklore and suggest historical areas that are particularly rewarding for the folklore approach&#8212;slavery, colonization, regionalism, and mass culture; and, equally important, they consider the pitfalls and misconceptions that can trap the unwary user of folk materials. As Mr. Dorson demonstrates, the capturing and interpreting of oral folk traditions is not a simple matter. The folklorist is the seeker of elusive and ephemeral impressions, while the historian has traditionally been concerned with documentary sources and with establishing a factual record of the past. Mr. Dorson has achieved a synthesis of two disciplines&#8212;folklore and history&#8212;ordinarily regarded as having little in common. American Folklore and the Historian stands as the only volume on American folklore theory; it will be the starting point for a vivid and human kind of historical writing.</div>

American Folklore and the Historian

"This introduction to the study of folklore and folklife contains an inspiring and spirited mixture of essays, theoretical contributions, practical instructions, and pure encyclopedia articles. It is a very well put together book, written by eighteen researchers who have something to say. One can see here that it is competent educators who have come forward and are narrating. . . . All in all it is a very use-oriented handbook with attractive typography and layout."—Iorn Pio, Journal of American Folklore

Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

This introduction to the study of folklore and folklife contains an inspiring and spirited mixture of essays, theoretical contributions, practical instructions, and pure encyclopedia articles. It is a very well put together book, written by eighteen researchers who have something to say. One can see here that it is competent educators who have come forward and are narrating . . . All in all it is a very use-oriented handbook with attractive typography and layout Iorn Pio, Journal of American Folklore

All the selections in Richard M. Dorson's Folktales Told around the World were recorded by expert collectors, and the majority of them are published here for the first time. The tales presented are told in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania. Unlike other collections derived in large part from literary texts, this volume meets the criteria of professional folklorists in assembling only authentic examples of folktales as they were orally told. Background information, notes on the narrators, and scholarly commentaries are provided to establish the folkloric character of the tales.

Folktales Told around the World

All the selections in Richard M. Dorson's Folktales Told around the World were recorded by expert collectors, and the majority of them are published here for the first time. The tales presented are told in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, and Oceania. Unlike other collections derived in large part from literary texts, this volume meets the criteria of professional folklorists in assembling only authentic examples of folktales as they were orally told. Background information, notes on the narrators, and scholarly commentaries are provided to establish the folkloric character of the tales.

Folktales Told Around the World: Told Around the World

Remote and rugged, Michigan’s Upper Peninsula (fondly known as “the U.P.”) has been home to a rich variety of indigenous peoples and Old World immigrants—a heritage deeply embedded in today’s “Yooper” culture. Ojibwes, French Canadians, Finns, Cornish, Poles, Italians, Slovenians, and others have all lived here, attracted to the area by its timber, mineral ore, and fishing grounds. Mixing local happenings with supernatural tales and creatively adapting traditional stories to suit changing audiences, the diverse inhabitants of the U.P. have created a wealth of lore populated with tricksters, outlaws, cunning trappers and poachers, eccentric bosses of the mines and lumber camps, “bloodstoppers” gifted with the lifesaving power to stop the flow of blood, “bearwalkers” able to assume the shape of bears, and more. For folklorist Richard M. Dorson, who ventured into the region in the late 1940s, the U.P. was a living laboratory, a storyteller’s paradise. Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers, based on his extensive fieldwork in the area, is his richest and most enduring work. This new edition, with a critical introduction and an appendix of additional tales selected by James P. Leary, restores and expands Dorson’s classic contribution to American folklore. Engaging and well informed, the book presents and ponders the folk narratives of the region’s loggers, miners, lake sailors, trappers, and townsfolk. Unfolding the variously peculiar and raucous tales of the U.P., Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers reveals a vital component of Upper Midwest culture and a fascinating cross-section of American society.

Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers: Folk Traditions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

History

Americas

University of Wisconsin Press

Folk-lore. This fascinating retelling of American history through its folklore shows how the ideas and values of a given period are reflected in ballad, lore, and legend.

America In Legend: Folklore from the Colonial Period to the Present

Pantheon Books

Folktales and legends provide a window on American culture and values over two centuries

AMERICA IN LEGEND

Pantheon

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dorson, Richard M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Dorson, Richard M.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Dorson, Richard M.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

American Folklore (The Chicago History of American Civilization)

Buying the Wind: Regional Folklore in the United States

American Folklore and the Historian

Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction

Folklore and Folklife: An Introduction

Folktales Told around the World

Folktales Told Around the World: Told Around the World

Bloodstoppers and Bearwalkers: Folk Traditions of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula

America In Legend: Folklore from the Colonial Period to the Present

AMERICA IN LEGEND