This volume is somewhat different from its predecessors in that (i) its contents have been shaped by the fact that the intended recipient's death occurred as we were going to press, with a lesser coverage of her work, and (ii) the fact that it was decided to publish in Australian Folklore a number of the papers given at the National Biennial Conference in 2000. Further, like the Conference itself, the journal is more and more concerned with Folklore Study done in Australia and its region, and not totally focused on the Australian collecting of, and research into, material largely generated by the societies of this continent.What was to have been a seventy-fifth birthday present became, in the event, a commemoration of her whole life, something achieved with the very considerable assistance of the staff of the State Library of Victoria who assisted us to a description of her numerous papers, in the hope that this might lead to further work on the materials which she had collected so energetically for many years.
There were also to be noted the deaths of John Meredith (see No 15 of Aust. Folklore), and of Shirley Andrews, the valiant champion of (the history of) traditional dance in Australia. Much was, further, said about the very large Thirteenth Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research, which had taken place in splendid fashion at the University of Melbourne in July, a gathering which lived up to its concern
that the Congress would provide a forum for discussing folk narrative research in the context of indigenous cultures, alongside the associated issues of ethics, translation, intellectual property rights, etc.
Once again, heritage had a considerable place in the volume, as did the lore of place.And a charming feature is the account and photographs concerned with the national mediaeval project the building of the remarkably authentic Viking Village located to the east of Armidale, New South Wales. The contents may be well described in this fashion:
- Obituary and other tributes to four major folklorists
- Four significant records of the work of Patsy Adam -Smith
- Eleven Comparative and Theoretical Essays
- Eight on Australia Folklore/Folklife
- Numerous reviews, and generous illustrative material
Articles of Particular Interest
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Patsy Adam-Smith at War |
