Teacher Planbook: Integrating Folk Music,
Folklore and Traditional Culture Instruction Into K-12 Education




ALAN LOMAX REMEMBERED
1915 - 2002
"I say then that cultures do not and never have flourished in isolation, but have flowered in sites that guaranteed their independence and at the same time permitted unforced acceptance of external influences." This is a much more realistic formulation than either cultural separatism or cultural assimilation. ~ Alan Lomax "
Appeal for Cultural Equity" (Journal of Communication, Spring 1977) In his notes for the record album American Folk Songs for Children (Atlantic 1350)

Criticism of Lomax
John and Alan Lomax, who also devoted themselves to collecting and preserving traditional folk music, took the controversial step of copyrighting in their own names the songs they collected, as if they had written the songs themselves. They even copyrighted original songs collected from other singers, such as Leadbelly's "Good Night Irene." This prompted Leadbelly to add a verse to "De Ballad of De Boll Weevil":


Lomax the Song Hunter FILM SYNOPSIS PBS

"Lomax the Songhunter" premiered on P.O.V. on August 22, 2006. Check your local Station for time.

Alan Lomax (1915-2002) earned a singular place for himself in American culture and arts. Building on the pioneering work of his father, John, whom he accompanied on folk-song recording tours of the American South and Southwest in the 1930s and '40s, Alan set out after World War II to do nothing less than draw the folk music map of the world. Sensing that the world's indigenous music was on the point of being swept away by mass commercial culture, Lomax brought considerable energy and urgency to his awesome task. He also brought an infectious love for the varied homespun musical traditions, especially the songs passed mouth to ear for generations.

YOU CAN BE A SONG HUNTER
http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/NCFR/
PRESERVE OUR AMERICAN VERNACULAR SONGS - OUR ORAL CULTURE

Special Thanks to my Friend Gina for sending the info.
Gina Boltz
Director, Native Village Publications
Director, Youth Forum for International Council of 13 Indigenous Grandmothers
http://www.nativevillage.org
Secretary, Link Center Foundation
http://linkcenterfoundation.org