Ray Cashman is Associate Professor in the Department of English and the Center for Folklore Studies at Ohio State University.
"An intriguing read for those interested in folklore, ethnography, and the role of stories in shaping a community.... Recommended." ?Choice
"[A] compelling book." ?AMERICAN ETHNOLOGIST
"[S]tudents will find it immensely useful in providing them with concepts and terminology which will broaden their vision and sharpen their research and analytical skills. A beautifully written, shapely book, it is a pleasure to read. And it is packed with brilliant new ideas and observations about storytelling, people, community, and life." ?Béaloideas: The Journal of the Folklore of Ireland Society
"[P]rovides a powerful demonstration of the social role and function of folklore... [and] deserves a much wider readership among those involved in the study of conflict resolution or of Irish history more generally." ?Folklore
"Storytelling on the Northern Irish Border has broad, multi-disciplinary appeal and is a worthy contribution to any folkloristic, anthropological, or celtic Studies library. Although the book assumes a significant level of folkloristic knowledge, it is accessible and does not exclude a non-academic audience." ?Journal of American Folklore
"Intelligent, eminently readable, highly personal without being self-indulgent... a model for responsible, highly skilled, humanistic field research." ?New Hibernia Review
"It is rare to read a book so clearly and intelligently expressed.... [A]n important contribution to both the study of Irish folk culture, and to the study of artistic speech." ?Jack Santino, Bowling Green State University
Acknowledgments
1. Goals and Orientations
2. Aghyaran: A Sense of Place and History
3. Ceilis as Storytelling Contexts
4. Wakes as Storytelling Contexts
5. Local Character Anecdotes
6. The Wider Range of Storytelling Genres
7. Anecdotes and the Literary Character
8. Anecdotes and the Local Character
9. Anecdote Cycles and Personality Traits
10. Patterns and Implications
11. Storytelling, Commemoration, and Identity
Notes
Bibliography
Index