Ella Hanshaw (1934–2020) wrote hundreds of gospel and country songs in her life. Her works are recorded professionally and released publicly for the first time in SPINSTER's new album Ella Hanshaw’s Black Book.
Recent Releases
The 2024 AFS Annual Report is now available.
Playing the Archive (UCL Press) revisits the trailblazing work of folklorists Iona and Peter Opie, who documented children’s playground games, rhymes, and traditions in mid-20th century Britain, and brings their research into the digital age. This volume is available as an open access PDF.
California Gold (University of California Press) offers a compelling cultural snapshot of a diverse California during the 1930s at the height of the New Deal, drawing on the career of folk music collector Sidney Robertson and the musical culture of often-unheard voices.
With Seekers of Wonder, Elena Sottilotta offers the first comparative study of women’s manifold roles in the collection of Italian and Irish folklore and fairy tales between 1870 and 1920. Dr. Sottilotta is research fellow at Murray Edwards College, University of Cambridge.
Hannah Flint is an author and folklore enthusiast living in Spokane, Washington. Through her book, Eastern Washington Folklore, Hannah hopes to share the tales and traditions of her community, as well as to celebrate the diverse narratives that shape the landscape around her.
Join the AFS Fellows for a webinar on May 19 at 1:30 p.m. EDT that highlights the publication of Emerging Perspectives in the Study of Folklore and Performance (IU Press, 2025). Authors engage in discussions on how folklore and performance intersect in their chapters on dance ethnography, social movements, ritual and narrative, archival practices, and the performance of tradition. Charles Briggs, Soli Otero and Anthony Bak Buccitelli moderate the discussion as Kay Turner and Stephen Gencarella provide critical commentary on the volume.
Beautiful Clay by John Burrison examines the aesthetic dimensions of what is essentially a traditional utilitarian craft, the ancient clay-based craft of pottery, from earliest times to the present. Burrison is Regents' Professor of English at Georgia State University and an AFS Fellow.
The Kitchen God and His Wives is a modern folk epic on the origin of the Stove God, widely venerated across China. This tale offers a valuable look at Chinese folk culture and traditional storytelling. The book is annotated and translated by Wilt Idema, Professor Emeritus of Chinese Literature at Harvard University.
What does comedy look like when the wrong punchline can land you in jail? Timothy Thurston's Satirical Tibet (University of Washington Press) offers the first-ever look at zurza, the Tibetan art of satire. Focusing on the region of Amdo, Thurston introduces the vibrant and technologically innovative comedy scene that took shape following the death of Mao Zedong and the rise of ethnic revival policies. This book is available as an open access edition.