Ellen McHale

Altered States of Place

The “places” that are important to us are currently in a state of re-definition.  As we experience social distancing to address the Covid-19 pandemic, our work spaces and our personal spaces are now one and the same.  My kitchen table – that place where pies are...

Folk Tales and Fairy Tales in Performance

Folk Tales and Fairy Tales in Performance

Perhaps more than any other single aspect of the discipline of folklore, the collection, study, and analysis of narrative arts, storytelling, and storytellers has been a central part of folklore scholarship since the field was founded in the mid-Nineteenth Century. ...

75th Anniversary Year in Review

75th Anniversary Year in Review

As we close the books on 2019, I want to thank everyone for a fantastic and celebratory 75th anniversary year. New York Folklore was founded in 1944 by Louis Jones and Harold Thompson, two close friends and folklore colleagues who had a vision for a folklore...

The Birth of New York Folklore: 1944

The Birth of New York Folklore: 1944

Image: Louis C. Jones, 1950 New York Folklore celebrates the 75th anniversary of its founding in 1944. The New York Folklore Society was formed as an offshoot of the New York State Historical Association and had the blessing of then-NYSHA President, Ryan Dixon Fox, an...

Remembering the Founders of New York Folklore

Remembering the Founders of New York Folklore

As New York Folklore turns 75 in 2019, and our journal celebrates its 75th year of publication in 2020, I invite our supporters and readers to join us in celebration! This is also a time to look back on our rich history, and remember the people who helped us reach the...

NYSCA New York State Folk Arts Roundtable in Utica

NYSCA New York State Folk Arts Roundtable in Utica

This year’s NYSCA New York State Folk Arts Roundtable took place in Utica from April 3-5. The NYSCA New York State Folk Arts Roundtable is a professional development meeting and convening that draws the state’s folklorists and traditional arts professionals for three...

New York Folklore Opens Inaugural Exhibit

New York Folklore Opens Inaugural Exhibit

New York Folklore opened its exhibition gallery with an exhibition of ebru paintings by Hatice Erbas-Sorkunlu. Hatice Erbas-Sorkunlu is an ebru artist originally from Turkey, currently living in Buffalo. Hatice studied the traditional Turkish tile art of çini at...

NYSCA Living Traditions

NYSCA Living Traditions

Take a look at the work of our peers! The NYSCA Living Traditions site is an engaging way to experience the diverse traditions and folkways of New York State. In its own words, “New York State is home to countless traditions thriving in its ethnic, regional,...

New Staff for the New Year

New Staff for the New Year

As New York Folklore embarks on new projects and programs in 2019, I am pleased to welcome two new additions to our staff. Kira Born is not new to our organization, as she (along with Chibuikem Ajulu-Okeke) designed and wrote our new website....

Stable Views

Stable Views

My introduction to the racetrack and its world of racing began in 1996, as I was asked by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame at Saratoga Springs, New York, to conduct an ethnographic study of the “backstretch”. I received an Archie Green Fellowship in...

Folkways and Waterways Grant Received

Folkways and Waterways Grant Received

New York Folklore is pleased to announce the receipt of a $49,500.00 grant from the New York State Council on the Arts. Working in partnership with the Museum Association of New York, “Folkways and Waterways” examines the role of water as portrayed in and utilized by traditional arts and culture.