Folklore Of Romantic Arkansas

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 folklore tradition is treated in this collection of eight essays covering the history of folklore research in the state, traditional songs and music, "tall tales," folk architecture, traditional foods and their preparation, superstitions and beliefs, and festivals and celebrations. Includes extensive bibliographies of reference works, and audio and video recordings.

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.

During the 1930s in the United States, the Works Progress Administration developed the Federal Writers’ Project to support writers and artists while making a national effort to document the country’s shared history and culture. The American Guide series consists of individual guides to each of the states. Little-known authors—many of whom would later become celebrated literary figures—were commissioned to write these important books. John Steinbeck, Saul Bellow, Zora Neale Hurston, and Ralph Ellison are among the more than 6,000 writers, editors, historians, and researchers who documented this celebration of local histories. Photographs, drawings, driving tours, detailed descriptions of towns, and rich cultural details exhibit each state’s unique flavor. Published in 1941, the WPA Guide to Arkansas splendidly exhibits the varied environment of the Natural State. From the densely forested land in the Ozark Mountains and Arkansas Timberlands to the Mississippi River and the Arkansas Delta, the guide to the Land of Opportunity provides several photographs of, history on, and driving tours through the state’s grand geography.