Randolph, Vance, 1892-1980
Variant namesAuthor and folklorist.
From the description of Vance Randolph book typescripts, 1947-1953. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 84232113
The Collector
Vance Randolph was a self-educated folklorist who made a living as a professional writer. Born in Pittsburg, Kansas, in 1892, he was educated as a scientist: as an undergraduate, he studied biology, and then in graduate school at Clark University, in psychology. As a graduate student, Randolph began to earn money by coaching students and ghostwriting. He then moved to the Ozark Mountains, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He was married twice, the first marriage lasting through the 1930s. In 1962 he married Mary Celestia Parler, a professor of English at the University of Arkansas and an active member of the folklore community, in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
In the 1920s, Randolph began writing about the Ozark folklore he was collecting. He published several articles on dialect, folk belief, and recreation. His first books of folklore scholarship, The Ozarks and Ozark Mountain Folks, were published in the 1930s. He went on to publish Ozark Folksongs (4 vols., 1946-50) and Ozark Superstitions (1947). In the 1950s, he published four collections of folktales and a book about language in the Ozarks. His other major publications include Ozark Folklores: A Bibliography (1972), Pissing in the Snow and other Ozark Folktales (1976), and Unprintable Ozark Folksongs and Folklore (1992). In 1978 Randolph was elected as a Fellow of the American Folklore Society, crowning a distinguished career with this formal professional honor.
From the guide to the Vance Randolph Collection, 1941-1972, (bulk 1941-1943), (Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center Library of Congress http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.home)
| Role | Title | Holding Repository |
|---|
Filters:
| Relation | Name | |
|---|---|---|
| associatedWith | Archive of Folk Song (U.S.) collector. | corporateBody |
| associatedWith | Carlisle, Irene Jones, performer. | person |
| correspondedWith | Cowell, Sidney Robertson, 1903-1995. | person |
| associatedWith | Deane, Ernie. | person |
| correspondedWith | Dresbach, Beverley Githens. | person |
| associatedWith | Drury, John, 1898- | person |
| correspondedWith | Fletcher, John Gould, 1886-1950. | person |
| associatedWith | Hammontree, Doney, performer. | person |
| associatedWith | Haughawout, Margaret E. | person |
| associatedWith | McCord, May K., performer. | person |
| associatedWith | Starr, Belle, 1848-1889 | person |
| associatedWith | Wilson, George P. (George Pickett), 1888-1972. | person |
| associatedWith | Womer, Mary Louise. | person |
| Place Name | Admin Code | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oklahoma | |||
| Arkansas | |||
| Ozark Mountains | |||
| Arkansas | |||
| Ozark Mountains | |||
| Missouri | |||
| Oklahoma | |||
| Missouri |
| Subject |
|---|
| Ballads, English |
| Children's songs, English |
| English language |
| Fiddle tunes |
| Field recordings |
| Folk dance music |
| Folk festivals |
| Folk literature |
| Folklore |
| Folklore |
| Folklorists |
| Folklorists |
| Folk music |
| Folk songs, English |
| Games |
| Hymns, English |
| Material culture |
| Traditional medicine |
| Old-time music |
| Rites and ceremonies |
| Shape note singing |
| Singing games |
| Storytelling |
| Superstition |
| Tales |
| Tall tales |
| Occupation |
|---|
| Authors |
| Collector |
| Folklorists |
| Performer |
| Activity |
|---|
Person
Birth 1892-02-23
Death 1980-11-01
English
