"Sharecroppers Troubadour": Can We Use Songs and Oral Poetry as Oral History?

Publication Date

2014

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Drawing on Pete Seeger's song archive and an extensive oral history the author conducted with John Handcox of the Southern Tenant Farmers Union, this article draws attention to the power of songs and oral poetry as forms of oral history that provide "a way in" to our "emotional history" and that help us to better understand labor and civil rights struggles in the American South. Using examples from the life story of Handcox, the author asks: how can oral historians expand knowledge of the emotional past through the power of songs and oral poetry? © The Author 2014.

Publication Title

Oral History Review

Volume

41

Issue

2

First Page

217

Last Page

228

DOI

10.1093/ohr/ohu029

Publisher Policy

pre-print, post-print (with 2 year embargo)

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