Series 438: Federal Writers’ Project Folklore Essays. 1936-1939.
Creator: Work Projects Administration (RG 60).
Collection Summary: Draft essays on various folklore topics written by Federal Writers’ Project workers. Some drafts are handwritten, and others are typed, and many are marked up with editors’ comments. Occasionally multiple different versions of the same segment appear, accompanied by correspondence with editors regarding composition. Also included are transcriptions of stories and anecdotes collected from 1830s and 1840s newspapers. The index to folklore subjects in box 10537 defines each of the folklore topic areas for which workers were expected to find material, along with examples of what kinds of stories workers should collect. Files are arranged alphabetically by subject.
Access Restrictions: None.
Date(s): 1936-1939.
Volume: 12.00 Cubic Feet.
Finding Aid Created By: Colby Cox in September 2024.
Related Materials: Series 434: Federal Writers’ Project General Essay Drafts. 1936-1942.
Record Group History: The Works Projects Administration (WPA) was a federal program established on May 6th, 1935, in order to increase employment during the Great Depression. While the WPA was a federal program, it was implemented and managed on the state level with each state having their own director and office to guide the operation of the WPA for each state. The WPA was primarily focused on employing individuals for the purpose of creating public works and infrastructure, but a small portion of its funding was devoted to cultural and artistic endeavors which the files in this collection are primarily concerned with. Two of the major cultural projects the WPA undertook were the Federal Writers’ Project and the Historical Records Survey. The Federal Writers Project employed writers to create guides, histories, and chronicles for each state and the Historical Records Survey sought to catalogue the historical records of each state.
- Collection Inventory:
Box Content Box Number
Adams - Clarke counties 10524 Anecdotes 10533 Animal lore 10533 Clay - DeSoto counties 10525 Contributions to language 10533 Conversation 10533 Cures (index and summary) and customs 10534 Cures and charms 10533 Customs 10535 Customs 10536 Expressions 10536 Festivals 10536 Folk arts 10536 Folk dances 10536 Folk-stuff from early newspapers 10537 Food 10537 Forrest - Issaquena counties 10526 Games 10536 General information 10537 Gulf Coast 10537 Hunting stories 10537 Index to subjects 10537 Indians 10538 Introduction to Mississippi Folklore 10537 Itawamba - Lauderdale counties 10527 Lawrence - Marion counties 10528 Legends 10542 Magic 10537 Marion - Oktibbeha counties 10529 Miscellaneous 10546 Mississippi Folklore (bound volume) [mf #1740] 10446 Mississippi River legends and folks 10537 Mythological beliefs 10537 Negro 10539 Nicknames 10537 Occult power 10537 Panola - Simpson counties 10530 Recipes 10540 Recurring events 10540 Riddles 10540 Sayings and proverbs 10540 Signs and omens 10541 Simpson - Union counties 10531 Stories and sketches 10541 Superstitions 10541 Superstitions 10542 Tall tales and legends 10544 Tall tales and legends 10543 Tall tales and legends 10542 Tournaments 10536 Walthall - Yazoo counties 10532 War tales 10545 Weather beliefs 10545 Weather signs and omens 10545 White folk legends 10545 Witches and ghosts 10545