FOLK COLLECTION 39

FolkBistro

Introduction

Date of Items:     2008 to present

Processed by:    Randy Williams

Register by:     Randy Williams

Updated:    October 2008

Please cite this collection in the following manner:

Historical Note/Scope and Content

FolkBistro, a series of podcasts exploring folklore topics, features interviews with visiting scholars, fresh student fieldwork, selections from the Fife Folklore Archives and folklore pedagogy. FolkBistro is a production of Utah State University’s Merrill-Cazier Library in partnership with the USU Folklore Program. The host of FolkBistro is Randy Williams. Trevor Alvord is the producer. Digital support: Cheryl Walters and Heather Leary. The podcasts are hosted on Utah State University's Digital Library.

USU Library produced podcasts are born digital and are only availalbe from USU's Digital Library. The student produced podcasts (whether added to FolkBistro or not) are produced as partial requirments for a folklore course requirment and include CD, metadata forms and release forms; this material is housed at FOLK COLLECTION 8: USU (Undergraduate Student Fieldwork Collection) in USU's Special Collections & Archives

Us: Fife Folklore Archives   (Time: 11:49)

The premier episode of FolkBistro is an introduction to the Fife Folklore Archives, one of the largest folklore repositories in the United States. The episode includes information on the history of the Archives, including an example of Austin and Alta Fife, for whom the Archives is named, fieldwork on Mormon folksongs. L.M. Hilton of Ogden, Utah sings “The Gospel News.” The song was collected from Mr. Hilton by the Fifes in 1946 and it is part of the Fife’s Mormon Collection, part of the Fife’s original fieldwork collection that the Fife’s donated to Utah State University to begin the folklore repository. As well, the episode includes an example of a more recent fieldwork project: the Latino/a Voices Project, with an interview conducted by USU graduate student Karl Germeck with Alicia Espinosa regarding her childhood in Santiago, Chile under military dictator Augusto Pinochet.

  Podcast 2008-02: 10 April 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Folksong Legend, Peggy Seeger   (Time: 14:21)

Our second episode is the start of a three-part interview with Peggy Seeger. Peggy Seeger was on the campus of Utah State University 10 April to deliver the 2008 Fife Folklore Honor Lecture. Peggy is a collector and performer of traditional music. She grew up in a home where music was central: her mother Ruth Porter Crawford was a renowned composer, collector and teacher; her father was the famous ethnomusicologist Charles Seeger. Ms. Seeger’s older brother’s Mike & Pete are both musicians and collectors. Mike performs old-time music and was a member of the New Lost City Ramblers. Pete is a folk singer, activists and a member of the folk revival group the Weavers. In this first installment, Peggy talks about her family life, childhood and meeting her husband Ewan McColl.

  Podcast 2008-03: 10 April 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Folksong Legend, Peggy Seeger   (Time: 30:15)

This is our second part of a three-part interivew with Peggy Seeger. Ms. Seeger talks about her adult life with husband and musical partner Ewan McColl. In 1957, Peggy collaborated with Ewan McColl and Charles Parker on “Radio-Ballads, a series of musical documentaries for BBC, including examples of their work.

  Podcast 2008-04: 10 April 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Folksong Legend, Peggy Seeger   (Time: 20:15)

This episode in the final installment of a three-part interview with Peggy Seeger. In this fascinating episode, Peggy talks about her family's involvement in collecting and performing folk music.

  Podcast 2008-05: 4 June 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Folk Documentation: A Conversation with Guha Shankar   (Time: 32:45)

Dr. Guha Shankar is a folklorist at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. He was in Logan to deliver the keynote lecture at the Fife Folklore Workshop, 5 June 2008. Guha is an expert at folk documentation, including fieldwork, preservation and education. He is an ethnographic filmmaker and develops community- and place-based education programs for the American Folklife Center. He conducts workshops in ethnographic research methods and skills-based training in field documentation in institutions across the US. Prior to graduate studies, Guha was Media Production Specialist and documentary film producer at the Smithsonian Institution’s Center for Folklife Programs.

  Podcast 2008-06: 30 May 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Folksong & Music   (Time: 22:31)

This segment in on folksong and music and includes an example of "Blue Mountain," sung by Loyal Bailey and "Rolling Home," sung by Barre Toelken. The Fife Folklore Archives is home to a smorgasbord of folksong and music, in fact the original collection was folk music. Today, the archives houses other luminary folk music collecting, including the G. Malcolm Laws folk song and ballad collection, The John I. White cowboy music collection and the Skaggs Cowboy Poetry and song collection.

  Podcast 2008-07: 9 October 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Barre Toelken Folksong Lecture   (Time: 15:40)

Following up on our last segment on folksong and music, we bring you a three-part lecture by Barre Toelken on the same topic. The lecture was delivered at the 1999 Fife Folklore Conference.

  Podcast 2008-08: 9 October 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Barre Toelken Folksong Lecture   (Time: 25:30)

Our second installment on the fascinating lecture on folksong and music by renowned folklorist Barre Toelken on the same topic. The lecture was delivered at the 1999 Fife Folklore Conference.

  Podcast 2008-09: 9 October 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Barre Toelken Folksong Lecture   (Time: 25:30)

Our third and final installment on the fascinating lecture on folksong and music by folklorist Barre Toelken. The lecture was delivered at the 1999 Fife Folklore Conference.

  Podcast 2008-10: 9 October 2008 (Digital 17 October 2008)

Oral History   (Time: 7:44)

This episode is dedicated to oral history, with a fascinating interview by Hal Cannon with brothers Max and Merlin Tanner. The Tanner's grew up in the small Utah ranching community on the Nevada/Idaho border. In this excerpt, the brothers talk about outlaws. The interview is part of the Grouse Creek Cultural Survey undertaken in teh summer of 1985 by the Library of Congress, Utah State University, the Utah Arts Council's Folk Arts Program and the Utah State Division of History.

  Podcast 2008-11: 24 November 2008 (Digital 2008)

Tribute to Austin & Alta Fife   (Time: )

In this episode William A. “Bert” Wilson, introduces the 1981 Fife Honor Lecturer, Wayland Hand, and gives a lovely tribute to Austin and Alta Fife, for whom the honor lecture is named.

  Podcast 2008-12: 24 November 2008 (Digital 2008)

Magic and the Supernatural in Utah Folklore   (Time: )

Wayland Hand delivers the 1981 Fife Honor Lecture: Magic and the Supernatural in Utah Folklore.

  Podcast 2008-13: 24 November 2008 (Digital 25 November 2008)

The All-American Meal: Thanksgiving as Folklore   (Time: )

Happy Thanksgiving 2008. We are happy to bring you a riveting lecture on “The All-American Meal: Thanksgiving as Folklore” delivered by Professor Jay Anderson at the 1983 Fife Folklore Conference.

---

For reference questions: randy.williams@usu.edu or phone (435) 797-3493. Fife Folklore Archives, Special Collections & Archives, Merrill-Cazier Library, Logan Utah 84322-3000