Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania's folk traditions are both historically and culturally rich.
As noted in its 1991 legislation by the Pennsylvania General Assembly, "the
Commonwealth has historically served as a homeland for people from nations
of the world seeking a new life in freedom and dignity" (1991: House Bill
1103). The American Folklife Center's collections include material that
documents a diversity of folk traditions, including recordings of occupational
folklore of anthracite and bituminous miners and river boat raftsmen; Irish
music; fiddle and string band music; and ethnic, religious, and musical
traditions of Pennsylvania German, Lithuanian, Yiddish/Jewish, Slavonic,
and Bulgarian communities.
Collections
Finding Aid: View a complete list of our Pennsylvania collections.
Local Legacies: This project provides a "snapshot" of local culture as it was expressed in the year 2000. View Pennsylvania's Local Legacies projects.
Veterans History Project: Browse state collections from the Veterans History Project.
Webcasts
Ollin Yoliztli Calmecac: Aztec dance ensemble from Pennsylvania. Recorded in Coolidge Auditorium at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., June 18, 2009. [catalog record] [event flyer and webcast]
"Waking up the People" Presented by Linda Goss: African American Storytelling. Recorded July 29, 2006. [catalog record] [event flyer and webcast]
Additional Resources
Educational Resources: View a list of educational materials related to Pennsylvania and Philadelphia from A Teacher's Guide to Folklife Resources.
Folklife Resources: Find state folklife-related agencies, societies, archives, higher education programs, and more, in Folklife Sourcebook: A Directory of Folklife Resources in the United States.
Publications: Pennsylvania Folk Music (bibliography from 1981). [full text]
Pennsylvania German Fraktur and Printed Broadsides. [catalog record]
"A Fraktur Primer," Folklife Annual 88-89. [catalog record]
"Plastic Strap Baskets: Containers for a Changing Context," Folklife
Annual 88-89. [catalog record]
"Aids to Adaptation: Southeast European Mural Paintings in Pittsburgh," Folklife
Annual 90. [catalog record]
"The Satisfaction of Reproduction: A Baroque Painter in Italian Philadelphia," Folklife
Annual 90. [catalog record]
"Monsters and Clowns: A Deaf American Halloween," Folklife Annual
90. [catalog record]
Published Recordings: Songs and Ballads of the Anthracite Miners, Library of Congress
AFS L16. [audiocassette]
Songs and Ballads of the Bituminous Miners, Library of Congress
AFS L60. [audiocassette]
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