In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Re-Situating Folklore: Folk Contexts and Twentieth-Century Literature and Art
  • David A. Allred
Re-Situating Folklore: Folk Contexts and Twentieth-Century Literature and Art. By Frank de Caro and Rosan Augusta Jordan. (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2004. Pp. x + 332, acknowledgements, introduction, index, notes, photos and illustrations.)

Frank de Caro and Rosan Augusta Jordan's Re-Situating Folklore is a broad treatment of the intersections of folklore, literature, and art in the twentieth century. Closely examining diverse works of literature, from Eudora Welty's The Robber Bridegroom to Jay McInerney's Story of My Life, and visual art, from the paintings of Frida Kahlo to the photographs of Clarence John Laughlin, the book's most striking feature is its breadth in analyzing literary and visual art. As part of the scholarly dialogue on folklore and literature, the book carves out a niche in several ways. First, by examining visual and literary artists' overlapping strategies for drawing on folklore, the authors reinforce the view that folklore influences a range of communicative media. Second, by selecting artistic works from a variety of ethnicities, regions, literary and artistic traditions, and economic positions, the authors consciously combat the simple conflation of folklore with the past and with the marginal. Finally, by adding a third methodological step to Alan Dundes's argument that folklore and literary approaches should first identify and then interpret, the authors focus on the social and historical context of the use of folklore "in" literature.

After giving a cogent overview of the study of folklore and literature, the book presents nine chapters, which are divided into three three-chapter sections. The first group of chapters explores different strategies for drawing on folklore used in literary or visual art, as well as their mimetic or structural dependence on folk traditions. The second group of chapters examines particular genres of folklore, such as proverbs or quilting, in a range of literary and visual texts. The third section is more eclectic, but its chapters are linked by the common theme of exploring the complexities and nuances of how folklore and literature overlap and inform one another, sometimes in surprising ways.

Overall, Re-Situating Folklore is a laudable contribution to the study of folklore and literature. The introduction is a concise and insightful overview of the field, giving a useful catalog of ways that authors and artists draw on folklore materials. Several chapters shine, especially the final chapter, which compares two very different texts, J. Frank Dobie's Tongues of the Monte and Zora Neale Hurston's Mules and Men, to explore the literary techniques that help constitute their ethnographic writing. Another example of fruitful comparison is the discussion in chapter 1 of Chicano folk art such as McMuertos, Inc., or Hubcap Milagro #1 in relation to Ana Castillo's So Far from God. Throughout the book, these inventive comparisons illustrate and advance the authors' arguments about the uses of folklore in artistic works.

The book's strength in presenting a broad survey of literary and artistic works may at the same time be criticized by some for two reasons. On the one hand, the breadth in some chapters precludes depth. To examine such a range of [End Page 503] literary and visual works, the authors are forced to acquaint readers with the works through plot and overviews. When a chapter deals with only two or three works, this concern is not noticeable. Chapter 6 (coauthored with Susan Roach), however, looks at quilting in eleven fictional works, giving the chapter a laundry-list feel. On the other hand, for some the book's breadth may not be expansive enough. Readers expecting analysis of the intersection of folklore and poetry or drama may also be disappointed that the examples are overwhelmingly from fiction, despite exceptions in the chapter on a stage adaptation of Gumbo Ya-Ya and the extended discussion of poetry by Brooke Bergen. These criticisms, however, do not detract from the importance of this book, and the lack of focus on drama or poetry merely points to areas that can use further study. Ultimately, the book should be a part of the required reading for scholars of folklore and literature...

pdf

Share