Beyond the Briar Patch: Affrilachian Folktales, Food, and Folklore
by Lynette Ford
Parkhurst Brothers, Inc., 2014 eISBN: 978-1-62491-026-5 | Paper: 978-1-62491-025-8 Library of Congress Classification GR111.A47F673 2014 Dewey Decimal Classification 398.208996073
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Lyn Ford, an African-American storyteller honored by her peers nationally retells traditional stories and folkways from her cultural heritage. In addition, she provides readers with insights and historic perspective of these tales by including notes and references to extensive resources regarding the folktales she tells and the history that brought them to us.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Lyn (Lynette) Ford grew up in the African-American tradition in Appalachia (in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio) during the 1960s and 1970s. Her grandparents and parents practiced an ages-old oral storytelling tradition which they passed on to her. A teacher for many years, Lyn has now been an oral performer, a travelling storyteller, for more than two decades. In 2013 Lyn was named to the Circle of Excellence by the National Storytelling Network. She speaks of her “Affrilachian” tradition at conferences, conventions, and storytelling festivals throughout the USA and internationally. Her first book (Affrilachian Tales, Parkhurst Brothers Publishers, 2012) received the Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice Award from the Westchester County Library System in New York state.
REVIEWS
“The stories in this collection give dignity to the full measure of the African-American—indeed the human—experience. Storyteller Ford highlights the heart, humor, history and humanity of African American stories. At the end of each story, Ford inserts notes about the story, its origins, and its cultural and societal implications.”
— Melissa Wuske for ForeWord Reviews
“With this incredible book, Lyn Ford has fulfilled her destiny as keeper of her native culture. By recording the stories of her cultural heritage, she provides profound insight into the oral tradition in America, creating an original resource worthy of research by The Smithsonian!”
— Bobby Norfolk, Emmy- winning Storyteller and Author, St. Louis, MO
“Lyn Ford is a treasure. There is such beauty in this second installment of her tales where we learn even more of her upbringing in the Affrilachian region of Pennsylvania and the history behind those traditions. The stories--trickster tales, folk tales, tales of critters are beautifully written, warm, funny and full of wisdom.”
— Jay O”Callahan, Storyteller and Author, Marshfield, MA
“Lyn Ford’s major contributions to U.S. folklore could not have come at a better time. Ford’s work introduces a relatively unknown, yet wonderfully familiar, community in our midst. I am not Affrilachian, but these wonderful tales—shared by a master storytelller—connect me to family I never knew I had.”
— Caren Neile, Storyteller and Professor, Florida International University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments: Thank You, Folks!
Contents
Preface: The Rabbit in That Briar Patch?
The Briar Patch and Beyond
Critters
The Happy Place . A Somewhat Different “Briar-Patch” Tale
Lyn Ford, an African-American storyteller honored by her peers nationally retells traditional stories and folkways from her cultural heritage. In addition, she provides readers with insights and historic perspective of these tales by including notes and references to extensive resources regarding the folktales she tells and the history that brought them to us.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Lyn (Lynette) Ford grew up in the African-American tradition in Appalachia (in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio) during the 1960s and 1970s. Her grandparents and parents practiced an ages-old oral storytelling tradition which they passed on to her. A teacher for many years, Lyn has now been an oral performer, a travelling storyteller, for more than two decades. In 2013 Lyn was named to the Circle of Excellence by the National Storytelling Network. She speaks of her “Affrilachian” tradition at conferences, conventions, and storytelling festivals throughout the USA and internationally. Her first book (Affrilachian Tales, Parkhurst Brothers Publishers, 2012) received the Anne Izard Storyteller’s Choice Award from the Westchester County Library System in New York state.
REVIEWS
“The stories in this collection give dignity to the full measure of the African-American—indeed the human—experience. Storyteller Ford highlights the heart, humor, history and humanity of African American stories. At the end of each story, Ford inserts notes about the story, its origins, and its cultural and societal implications.”
— Melissa Wuske for ForeWord Reviews
“With this incredible book, Lyn Ford has fulfilled her destiny as keeper of her native culture. By recording the stories of her cultural heritage, she provides profound insight into the oral tradition in America, creating an original resource worthy of research by The Smithsonian!”
— Bobby Norfolk, Emmy- winning Storyteller and Author, St. Louis, MO
“Lyn Ford is a treasure. There is such beauty in this second installment of her tales where we learn even more of her upbringing in the Affrilachian region of Pennsylvania and the history behind those traditions. The stories--trickster tales, folk tales, tales of critters are beautifully written, warm, funny and full of wisdom.”
— Jay O”Callahan, Storyteller and Author, Marshfield, MA
“Lyn Ford’s major contributions to U.S. folklore could not have come at a better time. Ford’s work introduces a relatively unknown, yet wonderfully familiar, community in our midst. I am not Affrilachian, but these wonderful tales—shared by a master storytelller—connect me to family I never knew I had.”
— Caren Neile, Storyteller and Professor, Florida International University
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgments: Thank You, Folks!
Contents
Preface: The Rabbit in That Briar Patch?
The Briar Patch and Beyond
Critters
The Happy Place . A Somewhat Different “Briar-Patch” Tale
Turtle and Rabbit
Grasshopper and the Ants
Fox and Crow
Mrs. Turtle’s Cooking Pot
Pig’s Nose
Papa Turtle and Monkey
Rabbit and Fox at the Well
Rabbit and Lion at the Well
Folks
Clever Jackie
Josephus
One · The Baby
Two · Pig and Possum
Three · The Handsomest Man in the World
Four · Old John and Death
The Devil and the Farmer’s Wife
Spookers and Haints
John and the Devil
Jack Finds His Fear
Siftin’ Sand
A Sense of Place, and Time · And One Last Story
Reading Group Extras
About the Author
Q & A With Author Lyn Ford
Author’s Comments on the Origins of This Book
Glossary
ABOUT THIS BOOK | AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY | REVIEWS | TOC