Calling All Crones!

The Women’s Section of the American Folklore Society sponsors a triennial Croning to honor and celebrate women over 50 in the discipline of folklore at the Annual Meeting. There will be a Croning this year in Tulsa. The ritual was founded to honor the wisdom of older women in a society in which they and their important contributions are often overlooked or minimized. Although humor characterizes the ceremony, the Women’s Croning functions as a deeply meaningful rite of passage for female folklorists as they achieve crone status.

A crone initiate must be 50 or above, identify as a woman, and agree to use female pronouns for the purpose of taking the pledge. Usually this person will have been active in the Women’s Section, but the section may also extend a special invitation to women folklorists who meet the above criteria and whose work has been in the spirit or service of the Women’s Section mission. If you are interested in being croned this year or who would like to nominate someone to be a crone, please contact the Women’s Section co-conveners, Micah J. Ling ([email protected]) or Barbara Hamilton ([email protected]) by no later than September 1. We will forward those names to the Croning Planning Committee.

Looking forward to the big event,

Barbara and Micah
section conveners