Excerpt from Some Current Folk-Songs of the Negro

Now that this brochure is being reprinted by the Texas Folk Lore Society, I take the opportunity to say a word concerning its author and its history.

Although not a numbered publication, Some Current Folk Songs of the Negro (1912) was the first item produced by the Texas folk-lore Society. At the time dues to the Society were two-bits a year - ~not enough to allow a very extensive publication. Number I (now reprinted under the title of Round the Levee) was not issued until 1916, then it was seven more years before another volume was issued, since which time, 1923, the Society has sent out a book annually to its members. The credit for initiating the Society's policy of recording the lore of Texas and the Southwest belongs to Will H. Thomas.

At the time his pamphlet was issued, he was president of the organization, to which office he was elected again in 1923. His idea was that people who work with folk-lore should not only col lect it but interpret it and also enjoy it. This view is expressed in his delightful essay on The Decline and Decadence of Folk Metaphor, in Publications Number II (coffee in the Gourd) of the Society.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.