Publications

The Folklife Program has created several publications over the past three decades. These include historical and technical resources, as well as rich documentary projects that have been valuable to our constituents in the state and beyond. We make them available here and hope for their continued benefit. The most recent publication, Tradition: Tennessee Lives and Legacies, was both a book and exhibition project, featuring essays and portraiture of twenty-eight Tennessee tradition bearers. A short documentary film from the 2010 project is also included. Handbook for Tennessee Folk Artists, in its 3rd edition, offers detailed professional and legal guidance and advice for traditional artists and culture workers. Cumberland Music Tour, Gospel Arts Day ’88 and ’89, and Dixie Frets: Luthiers of the Southeast were each companion booklets to Folklife Program events or exhibits in the 1980s and 1990s, and remain quality sources of historical information. Fiddle and Old Time Music Contests also offers a historical overview of the contest tradition still thriving in Tennessee.