The Annotated African American Folktales (The Annotated Books)

September 25, 2017
Unlike other volumes in Norton’s Annotated series, this impressive compendium does not focus on a particular text or author, but on an entire genre. In introductory chapters, literature scholar Gates (Life Upon These Shores) reviews the sometimes disputatious history of collecting African-American folklore, while folklorist Tatar (The Annotated Brothers Grimm) clarifies the organizing principle behind the book’s arrangement of stories, which go from continental-African tales to African-American ones to “folkloric cousins abroad” from the Caribbean and Latin America. The editors’ commentaries pay homage to a host of previous story collectors, recognizing pioneers such as Zora Neale Hurston. They also offer other scholars welcome access to excerpts from rare historical periodicals, such as the Brownies’ Book and the Southern Workman. The significance of Uncle Remus author Joel Chandler Harris, as both preserver of history and perpetrator of stereotypes, and of Disney’s controversial big-screen depiction of Uncle Remus in Song of the South, receive special emphasis throughout. The editors explore as well the innovative use of folklore by modern writers, including Ralph Ellison and Toni Morrison. In a hefty volume “driven by an expansive collecting impulse,” Gates and Tatar manage to both entertain and teach, to delight and instruct, as do the folktales themselves. Strengthened by its dense review of scholarship, stunning gallery of illustrations, and comprehensive bibliography, this is a valuable collection.

October 15, 2017
This anthology of African-American folk tales, edited by Harvard professors Gates (In Search of our Roots: How 19 Extraordinary African Americans Reclaimed Their Pasts, 2017, etc.) and Tatar (Beauty and the Beast: Classic Tales About Animal Brides and Grooms from Around the World, 2017, etc.), gathers more than 100 folk tales from the African diaspora into an exhaustive collection for both academic and casual audiences. Gates and Tatar combine critical essays on the origins of black folklore collections, primary sources, and essay-length statements from past archivists--including Joel Chandler Harris, Zora Neale Hurston, and Sterling A. Brown--in order to give readers a comprehensive sense of black folklore's unique role in American literary and political culture. Casual readers can simply enjoy the anthology's extensive sampling of familiar tales. An entire chapter is dedicated to variations on "The Tar-Baby Story," and Brer Rabbit appears in dozens of stories. Harris' Uncle Remus tales get considerable attention, as do the tales in Hurston's towering folklore collection, Mules and Men. The edition's useful annotations clarify these tales' language, making them more accessible to a wider audience. The editors also make room for analogous stories from Latin American traditions and black adaptations of European fairy tales, demonstrating how myths and folk tales are often universal in nature. As convenient as it will be for casual readers to have these tales collected into one volume, this anthology will be of greatest interest to an academic audience. Gates' and Tatar's introductions provide essential critical frameworks for understanding black folk culture's centrality to wider American culture, while the secondary sources shed light on the various methodologies and philosophies that have informed how scholars gather folklore. An exhaustive, informative, and entertaining survey of African-American folklore, its centrality to American culture, and the universality of myth.

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November 1, 2017

Coeditors Gates (Alphonse Fletcher Univ. Professor, Harvard Univ.; Finding Your Roots: The Official Companion to the PBS Series) and Tatar (John L. Loeb Professor of Folklore & Mythology, Harvard Univ.; The Classic Fairy Tales) present an engaging and entertaining collection of folktales that illustrates the ability of storytelling to inspire, advise, and preserve cultural heritage. A pervasive theme of many of the selected stories is the transformative power of language: to outwit enemies and elude pursuers, to teach moral lessons and effect escapes, to explain the incomprehensible and endure the unendurable. Introductory materials for the entire book and each section of stories provide an overview of the history of the collection and preservation of African American folktales, as well as examine common narrative motifs and their antecedents in African folklore. Brer Rabbit is reclaimed from Joel Chandler Harris and Walt Disney, and the pivotal contributions of Zora Neale Hurston in gathering and contextualizing folktales is also highlighted. Survival, both physical and spiritual, is the reality that underpins these stories, as is resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity. VERDICT This valuable and much-needed anthology is highly recommended for readers interested in folklore and African American history.--Sara Shreve, Newton, KS

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2017
Harvard-based scholar and prolific author Gates and Tatar, chair of Harvard's folklore and mythology program, present a collection of 20 African and 150 African American folktales that showcases many facets of those rich oral traditions. A number of tales were found in such trailblazing journals as The Southern Workman, The Journal of American Folklore, and The Brownies' Book. This substantial volume's panoramic coverage draws attention to Anansi stories and other African folktales, tales from Caribbean and Latin American cultures, and an eclectic selection entitled Something Borrowed, Something Blue: Fairy Tales. Gates and Tatar provide two commentary sections, Prefaces to Collections and Manifestos about Collecting African American Lore and Poets and Philosophers Remember Stories: Meditations on African American Lore as well as an image gallery. Extensively sourced, this groundbreaking gathering redefines African American folklore, establishes a canon, and traces the influence of these stories on American history, society, and culture. A rigorous achievement and a worthy and fascinating addition to any folklore, African American studies, or American literature collection.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)