| American Folklore Contributor(s): Dorson, Richard M. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0226158594 ISBN-13: 9780226158594 Publisher: University of Chicago Press OUR PRICE: $40.59 Product Type: Paperback Published: January 1961 Annotation: 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, he shows what the creation of spurious folklore discloses about our national character. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Social Science | Folklore & Mythology |
| Dewey: 398.097 |
| LCCN: 77077491 |
| Series: Chicago History of American Civilization (Paperback) |
| Physical Information: 0.8" H x 5.27" W x 8.06" (0.70 lbs) 324 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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 |