I've said it before and I'll keep saying it: the Internet Archive is a great treasure of human endeavor. Here's another example.
The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore; the folklore of North Carolina, collected by Dr. Frank C. Brown during the years 1912 to 1943, in collaboration with the North Carolina Folklore Society : Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
It's a collection of folklore from North Carolina. I know, I know, but hear me out.
The collection was assembled in the 1920s and 1930s by a professor who traveled all across the state. Now, especially in the mountains, North Carolina had a strong influence from Celtic countries, so much of the folklore is descended from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. And it's not just stories, as you might think. Picking through the tables of contents (it's five volumes!) we get proverbs, riddles, beliefs and customs, folk songs, ballads, games and rhymes, tales and legends, speech, and superstitions.
For those so inclined, it's a trove of ideas. It's also worth saying that while the provenance is North Carolina, folklore has such commonality of form that you could go most anywhere in the world and hear echoes. And each section has its own bibliography! That's one big rabbit hole.
The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore; the folklore of North Carolina, collected by Dr. Frank C. Brown during the years 1912 to 1943, in collaboration with the North Carolina Folklore Society : Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
It's a collection of folklore from North Carolina. I know, I know, but hear me out.
The collection was assembled in the 1920s and 1930s by a professor who traveled all across the state. Now, especially in the mountains, North Carolina had a strong influence from Celtic countries, so much of the folklore is descended from Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. And it's not just stories, as you might think. Picking through the tables of contents (it's five volumes!) we get proverbs, riddles, beliefs and customs, folk songs, ballads, games and rhymes, tales and legends, speech, and superstitions.
For those so inclined, it's a trove of ideas. It's also worth saying that while the provenance is North Carolina, folklore has such commonality of form that you could go most anywhere in the world and hear echoes. And each section has its own bibliography! That's one big rabbit hole.