From My People

400 Years of African American Folklore: An Anthology

Browse Return to Previous Page       Related Subjects African American Studies All Subjects Folktales

by Daryl Cumber Dance

W. W. Norton and Co.

Due/Published November 2003, 736 pages, paper

ISBN 0393324974

New in paper (F03)

A celebration of--and an introduction to--African American life and culture. African American folklore not only hands down traditions and wisdom through the generations but also tells the history of a people banned from writing and reading during slavery. In this anthology, Daryl Cumber Dance collects a wealth of tales that have survived and been adapted over the years, many featuring characters (like Brer' Rabbit) from African culture. She leaves no genre of folklore out, including everything from proverbs and recipes to folk songs and rumor. There is a section on the unique style that African Americans have consciously fashioned, including works by and about Paul Laurence Dunbar, Zora Neale Hurston, and Jelly Roll Morton. Within the chapter on folk art, which includes a sixteen-page color insert, quilts, dolls, sculpture, and painting are discussed.