Brown University's Public Work Podcast- Episode 06: Emily Hilliard on Folklore, West Virginia, and Documenting Contemporary Labor Movements

"What role does folklore play in modern life? What is folklore, anyway? In this episode, Amelia Golcheski interviews West Virginia state folklorist Emily Hilliard to learn why folklore is more than just myths and legends. It can also be about labor movements, local histories, and even the “right” way to eat a hot dog. Amelia and Emily also discuss the recent teachers’ strike in West Virginia, misconceptions about life in so-called “Trump Country,” and approaches to public humanities that are invested in showing the importance of regional history."

Listen via Public Work

"One Year in Helvetia, West Virginia" Makes Bitter Southerner Top 10 Stories of 2017 List

Via Bitter Southerner: 

“One Year in Helvetia, West Virginia”

Story by Emily Hilliard | Photographs by Gabe DeWitt | Video by Coat of Arms

"This story was more than a year in the making. Emily Hilliard, the founder of the West Virginia Folklife Program based at the West Virginia Humanities Council, came to us wanting to document an entire year in one of the South’s most interesting small towns — Helvetia, West Virginia, population 59. In a high mountain valley “an hour from anywhere,” the little town sustains the traditions of the Swiss immigrants who settled there in 1869. Emily gave us a glorious look at Helvetia’s seasonal celebrations — and a deep understanding of how this isolated community draws strength from its land, its history, and its people."

Emily Hilliard Collection on West Virginia Ballad Singer Phyllis Marks Available via Library of Congress →

Hilliard was awarded a 2016 Henry Reed Fund Award from the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress for “West Virginia Folklife Presents Ballad Singer Phyllis Marks,” a public programming and documentation project highlighting the career and contributions of the respected octogenarian West Virginia traditional ballad singer Phyllis Marks. The documentation of this September 2016 free public concert is now among the holdings of the Archive of Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. The collection includes audio recording, video recording, digital photographs, concert program, and oversize poster and is available for research and public viewing via the Library of Congress. 

Turkey Calls, Serbian Dancing, and Traditional Broommaking: The Folklife of W.Va.

Emily speaks with West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Roxy Todd about the first two years of the West Virginia Folklife Program, and the new Folklife Apprenticeship Program. Listen here and here. 

A Fading Craft Finds a Voice on West Virginia Morning →

A version of Emily's radio story on Charleston Broom & Mop Co's James Shaffer, the last commercial broom maker in West Virginia, airs on West Virginia Morning from West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Listen here.