Participation Type
Paper
Session Title
Session 10.02 Folklore and Folkways
Presentation #1 Title
The Annotated Barbara Allen: An Online Resource
Presentation #1 Abstract or Summary
The Annotated Barbara Allen is a website the aim of which is to collect as much information about the song often called the oldest English folk ballad. Mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys, Barbara Allen recounts two love-deaths which, in some versions, are resolved through natural, vegetative intervention. But inconsistencies remain—the identity of characters, their motives, the results and consequences of their actions and even the geographical and natural setting of their drama all present us with interesting questions. The Annotated Barbara Allenseeks to collect variants of the text, both literary and musical, as well as related visual artifacts, in an ongoing discussion of the ambiguities of the song and its historical and cultural place and function.
At-A-Glance Bio- Presenter #1
Gregory Loselle holds an MA in Education and an MFA in Creative Writing from The University of Michigan, where he won four Hopwood Awards for his creative work. During the summer of 2013, he participated in the NEH-sponsored Voices from the Misty Mountains, a seminar on Appalachian culture facilitated by Sylvia Shurbutt of Shepherd University.
The Annotated Barbara Allen: An Online Resource
Corbly Hall 466
The Annotated Barbara Allen is a website the aim of which is to collect as much information about the song often called the oldest English folk ballad. Mentioned in the Diary of Samuel Pepys, Barbara Allen recounts two love-deaths which, in some versions, are resolved through natural, vegetative intervention. But inconsistencies remain—the identity of characters, their motives, the results and consequences of their actions and even the geographical and natural setting of their drama all present us with interesting questions. The Annotated Barbara Allenseeks to collect variants of the text, both literary and musical, as well as related visual artifacts, in an ongoing discussion of the ambiguities of the song and its historical and cultural place and function.
