Michigan-I-O: Alan Lomax and the 1938 Library of Congress Folk-Song Expedition
Todd Harvey’s 100-page e-book includes 28 audio recordings, and 5 short films shot by Alan Lomax. Publication Date: November 1, 2013
In 1938 the Library of Congress dispatched Alan Lomax — already a seasoned field worker at age 23—to complete a folklife survey of the Great Lakes region. He set off in a 1935 Plymouth Deluxe 4-door sedan, toting a Presto instantaneous disc recorder, a still camera, and a moving image camera. He returned almost three months later, having driven thousands of miles on barely paved roads, with a cache of 250 discs and 8 reels of film. These materials documented the diversity of ethnicity—Irish, Finnish, Serbian, Polish, German, Croatian, Canadian French, Hungarian, and more—in Michigan, as well as cultural expression among loggers and lake sailors.
This innovative e-publication celebrates the 1938 field trip with a compelling narrative written by the Library’s Lomax curator, Todd Harvey, and illustrated with original items from the trip, including audio and video clips, field notes, and telegrams. Together, these materials provide fascinating insights into both the region that Lomax called “the most fertile source” of American folklore, and the man who would become the most famous 20th century folklorist in America.
