Never Without a Song: The Years and Songs of Jennie Devlin, 1865-1952 Contributor(s): Newman, Katharine D. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0252063716 ISBN-13: 9780252063718 Publisher: University of Illinois Press OUR PRICE: $36.63 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: January 1995 Annotation: This biography focuses on the centrality of folksong in the life of Jennie Devlin, a woman who worked for fourteen years as a 'bound-out girl' along the New York-Pennsylvanian border and later lived in Philadelphia and Gloucester, New Jersey. |
Additional Information |
BISAC Categories: - Biography & Autobiography |
Dewey: B |
LCCN: 93006387 |
Series: Music in American Life |
Physical Information: 1.15" H x 6.27" W x 9.31" (1.45 lbs) 328 pages |
Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
Publisher Description: Never Without a Song focuses on the centrality of folksong in the life of Jennie Devlin, a woman who worked for fourteen years as a "bound-out girl," or serving maid, along the New York-Pennsylvania border in the late 1800s. Largely ignored and unwanted, Devlin persevered through Dickensian misfortunes to find love and raise a family (often alone) in Philadelphia and Gloucester, New Jersey. Katharine Newman met Devlin in 1936 and compiled information about the older woman's life and music. Half a century later, Newman returned to her collection in retirement, with her own perspective of age. The result is a unique biography of an American working-class woman, told with depth and candor. Newman also includes "I Wish I'd Been Born a Boy," "James Bird," "Martha Decker," "My Grandmother's Old Armchair," and other pieces, both British and American, most with tunes. |