In my folklore work, I’ve been exploring ways to reignite public folklore’s engagement with labor, so I was particularly excited when a rep from the National Rural Letter Carrier’s Association (the rural letter carriers union) reached out to me a few months ago after reading my Jacobin piece on the potential impact of US Postal Service privatization on rural communities.
As a result of that conversation, I’ll be participating in two NRLCA events next week in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the USPS, in Jefferson County, West Virginia, where Rural Free Delivery delivery was born 129 years ago.
On Thursday 7/24, colleagues at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum, Iowa Historical Society, and I will be presenting on the history and contemporary iteration of rural mail at the Shepherdstown Opera House. On Friday 7/25, I’ll be moderating a panel on the vital role of rural mail carriers in their communities with two West Virginia rural mail carriers, policy experts, and the president of the NRLCA Don Maston at Shepherd University’s Byrd Center.
You can find more info and register to attend in-person or online here: https://www.protectpostalworkers.com/usps-250th-anniversary-event-registration
Long live the USPS!
Harvard Folklore Symposium: Appalachia Betwixt & Between
Looking forward to learning from colleagues and presenting at Harvard Folklore & Mythology's Symposium this weekend! I'll be speaking on how expressive culture (aka folklore) was used by public educators during the 2018-2019 West Virginia Educators' Strike to bolster worker power, teach the public, and forge a new reality, and how those lessons still resonate today.
Thank you to Sarah Craycraft for the invitation and organizing work!
Learn more here
Smithsonian Postal Museum Research Conversation: Rural Free Delivery
On May 31, 2023, I look forward to presenting a research conversation at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum in D.C. on my American Folklife Center Archie Green Fellowship project "Rural Free Delivery: Mail Carriers in Central Appalachia."
This occupational folklife project documents the expressive culture and experiences of 25 rural mail carriers and clerks (formerly known as postmasters) in the upper mountain South (VA, WV, KY, OH, NC), the region which birthed the country’s first rural free delivery route in 1896. Rural Free Delivery focuses in particular on the function rural postal workers serve as important resources in their community, as well as how their place of work—rural post offices—are invaluable community hubs in remote areas. Additionally, the project explores how long-time rural carriers have witnessed changes in their work (namely increased monitoring and technological advances), community, and landscape, across their career.
DC folks are welcome to attend in person by RSVPing to Susan Smith at NPMResearchChair@si.edu and others can join via Zoom here.
Music Maker Foundation Hosts Conversation, What Is Folklore?
What comes to mind when you hear the word folklore? For many, probably Taylor Swift’s 2020 album. In actuality, the field encompasses traditional customs and art forms, practices that are preserved among a people, often passed down and around through word of mouth. Today, people across the world are more connected than ever, and as society changes and evolves, so does folklore. Join four working folklorists—Zoe van Buren (North Carolina Arts Council), Timothy Duffy (Music Maker Foundation), Katy Clune (Virginia Humanities), and Emily Hilliard (Mid Atlantic Arts)—for a discussion about the past, present, and future of folklore. As Zoe van Buren says “It’s very hard to define. If it were easy to define it wouldn’t be so powerful… tradition, folklife - these are not things, these are conversations.” Join the conversation on Tuesday May 3rd at 6pm Eastern and on Music Maker Foundation’s Facebook and YouTube channel following.
West Virginia Mine Wars Museum's Blair 100 Kickoff Event
I’m really looking forward to the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum's Battle of Blair Mountain Centennial Kickoff Event, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain, and focusing specifically on the importance of music and poetry as expressions of solidarity during the Mine Wars.
Featured musicians include blues harmonica player and National Heritage Fellow Phil Wiggins & West Virginia folklorist and musician Gerry Milnes, both of whom are featured in the film and soundtrack of John Sayles' 1987 film Matewan. Honored to be saying a few words alongside Crystal Good, Doris A. Fields, and more.