Blue Ridge Folklife

I've been priviledged to enjoy the works and friendship of "Blue Ridge Folklife" author Ted Olson for several years. His book is the product of his long-term assimilation of knowledge about the history and current styles of living for folklife in the Blue Ridge region. Author Olson lives and works in the geographical center of this region and his daily work involves study and teaching on the subject of life in Appalachia. The book is a good source of information for those wishing to better understand the historical development of the Blue Ridge region's folklife. It is also a lot of fun to read and you'll come away with lots of gee-whiz factoids, i.e..... ***Cherokee Stickball then until now (yes, it is still a game played in the region) ***Religious rituals such as footwashing, full-immersion baptism & faith healing ***Verbal folklore to include folk music and story-telling Recommended.

"BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE is a serious study of the area from northern Virginia and the West Virginia panhandle to northeast Georgia and northwest South Carolina. The book covers the area's history, folklore, and culture."--KNOXVILLE NEWS-SENTINEL, May 1998BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE provides "a basic overview of some aspects of local traditional culture as practiced by some members . . . of the Blue Ridge's people."--THE MOUNTAIN TIMES (Boone, N.C.), August 1998BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE is an "extremely valuable work."--THE ORANGE NEWSLETTER (Northern Ireland), April 1998BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE "should appeal to nonspecialists"; author Ted Olson "devotes the heart of his very readable book to describing the verbal folklore, customary folklife, and material culture of the [Blue Ridge] region."--THE NORTH CAROLINA HISTORICAL REVIEW, October 1998"Part history, part field guide, part travelogue, BLUE RIDGE FOLKLIFE is a fine introduction to the physical setting and folk culture of the storied region that makes up the southeastern extremities of the Appalachian Mountain range."--THE JOURNAL OF MISSISSIPPI HISTORY, 1999