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Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of Afro-American Folklore (Critical Studies on Black Life and Culture) [Paperback]

Alan Dundes (Editor)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

December 1, 1990 0878054782 978-0878054787
Exploring the scope, diversity, and vitality of black culture, here is a fascinating collection of more than sixty articles from some of the most perceptive and authoritative commentators upon the black experience--Zora Neale Hurston, J. Mason Brewer, Sterling A. Brown, Eldridge Cleaver, Willis Laurence James, John Lovell Jr., Langston Hughes, Charles W. Chesnutt, Alan Lomax, Ralph Ellison, A. Philip Randolph, Newbell Niles Puckett, Roger D. Abrahams, and many others.

Readers cannot help coming away from this book with a new appreciation of the nature and richness of African American folklore. For those with little or no previous knowledge of this heterogeneous and spellbinding lore Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel will be an eye-opening encounter.

Drawn out of the deep, rich well of African American culture, these essays convey the import of the black folk experience for all Americans. No library or individual with a serious interest in African American folklore should fail to own this remarkable anthology.


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Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

A classic book covering almost every aspect of the black folk experience, collecting writings by Zora Neale Hurston, Langston Hughes, Alan Lomax, Ralph Ellison, and many others

Product Details

  • Paperback: 702 pages
  • Publisher: University Press of Mississippi (December 1, 1990)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0878054782
  • ISBN-13: 978-0878054787
  • Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,034,911 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

 

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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sharp Wit in Folklore, June 29, 2004
This review is from: Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of Afro-American Folklore (Critical Studies on Black Life and Culture) (Paperback)
"Mother wit" is a slang term in African-American folklore. It refers to the ability to use common sense in daily life. This book is an excellent collection of essays and articles that shows how folklore is related to the idea of mother wit. Dundes looks at stories, jokes, toasts, proverbs, song lyrics, riddles, and numerous folklore genres to analyze important issues in black history and culture. The "laughing barrel" refers to the ability to laugh surreptitiously at absurd, challenging situations. In this book's title and contents, Dundes' combines mother wit with the laughing barrel to provide insights into important themes in African-American folklore.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. LHRidley-I Highly recommend this book!, February 14, 2010
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This review is from: Mother Wit from the Laughing Barrel: Readings in the Interpretation of Afro-American Folklore (Critical Studies on Black Life and Culture) (Paperback)
I use this book in my teaching of the African American cultural roots, heritage and legacy of Jazz. All schools should use it.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
In most countries of the world there is an ambivalence toward folklore and there has been ever since the science of folkloristics began to develop in the nineteenth century. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
genital superiority, darky act, metronome sense, oral literary criticism, white folklore, folk humor, sexual superiority, jazz men, laughing barrel, own folklore, folklore scholarship, folk narrative, white stereotype, negro music, white song, slave songs, steam drill, bad nigger
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, John Henry, United States, North Carolina, Brer Rabbit, Uncle Remus, Journal of American Folklore, American Indian, Old Marster, West African, South Carolina, New Orleans, Joel Chandler Harris, Langston Hughes, Chapel Hill, Zora Neale Hurston, Jim Crow, Civil War, Negro American, The Crisis, Mister Charley, Southern Workman, Sweet Back, High John de Conquer, Journal of Negro History
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