This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Archival processing of the Alison Joanne Kahn Collection of North Carolina Coastal Fieldwork was made possible through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Size | .5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 125 items) |
Abstract | Field recordings and documentation related to a National Endowment for the Arts and North Carolina Arts Council-funded project on traditional arts and maritime trades of North Carolina's coastal region. Alison Joanne Kahn, a white independent writer, editor, and folklorist, conducted the fieldwork in Beaufort and Hyde counties in the summer of 1990. The majority of the field recordings consist of live recordings of church choirs in Beaufort and Hyde counties, including recordings made at African Methodist Episcopal, Mennonite, and Baptist churches. Other recordings include interviews with self-taught artists, storytellers, composers, and performers of folk, old-time, and blues music. Documentation consists mostly of grant project materials created and compiled by Kahn, including tape logs, time logs, reports, and release forms, as well as clippings, maps, flyers, programs, and ephemera related to North Carolina's coastal region and the grant project's interview subjects. |
Creator | Kahn, Alison Joanne, 1954- |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Folklife Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Anne Wells, July 2019
Encoded by: Anne Wells, July 2019
Archival processing of the Alison Joanne Kahn Collection of North Carolina Coastal Fieldwork was made possible through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Alison Joanne Kahn is a white independent writer, editor, and folklorist. In 1982 she received her master's degree in folklore from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, where she conducted her masters thesis on the Eastern European Jewish community in St. John's, Newfoundland. She later published Listen While I Tell You: A Story of the Jews of St. John's (1987), based on her master's thesis fieldwork. In 1989 the North Carolina Arts Council hired Kahn to conduct fieldwork for a National Endowment for the Arts grant funded project on the traditional arts and maritime trades of North Carolina's coastal region. Mary Anne McDonald and George Holt of the North Carolina Arts Council conceptualized and oversaw the project, while Mike Dunn of the North Carolina State parks helped coordinate the project within the state park system. From July to October of 1990, Kahn conducted fieldwork in Beaufort and Hyde counties, resulting in field recordings, photographs, and related documentation on church choirs, musicians, composers, self-taught artists, quilters, storytellers, and community members involved with the region's maritime and farming traditions. Kahn is now based out of Takoma Park, Md., where she continues to work as an independent writer, editor, and folklorist.
Back to TopField recordings and documentation related to a National Endowment for the Arts and North Carolina Arts Council-funded project on traditional arts and maritime trades of North Carolina's coastal region. Alison Joanne Kahn, a white independent writer, editor, and folklorist, conducted the fieldwork in Beaufort and Hyde counties in the summer of 1990. Mary Anne McDonald and George Holt of the North Carolina Arts Council conceptualized and oversaw the project, while Mike Dunn of the North Carolina State parks helped coordinate the project within the state park system. The collection includes Alison Kahn's field recordings and related documentation on church choirs, musicians, composers, self-taught artists, quilters, storytellers, and community members involved with the region's maritime and farming traditions.
The majority of the field recordings consist of live recordings of church choirs in Beaufort and Hyde counties, including recordings made at African Methodist Episcopal, Mennonite, and Baptist churches. Other recordings include interviews with self-taught artists, storytellers, composers, and performers of folk, old-time, and blues music, as well as two recordings of self-released gospel music (FS-20228/628, FS-20228/629) presumably collected by Alison Kahn while she was conducting her fieldwork for the project. Of particular note is a recording with Bill "Meter Man" Ebison (FS-20228/618), an African American composer, singer, and guitarist of Washington, N.C., who composes and sings songs about his job as a meter reader for the electric company, as well as recordings of Ann Bell (FS-20228/615-616), a self-taught painter who uses water colors with pen and ink to portray everyday scenes from her childhood as a sharecropper's daughter. All recordings are on audiocassette.
Documentation consists mostly of grant project materials created and compiled by Kahn, including tape logs, time logs, reports, and release forms, as well as clippings, maps, flyers, programs, and other ephemera related to North Carolina's coastal region and the grant project's interview subjects. The collection also contains materials related to the grant project proposal, including a letter of intent to the NEA from George Holt, who was Director of the Folklife Section of the North Carolina Arts Council at the time, a copy of the grant proposal, a fieldworker job posting for the grant project, and Kahn's application for the position.
Back to TopArrangement: In order as received.
Processing information: Titles and descriptions compiled from original containers and field notes by Alison Joanne Kahn.
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/611 |
Vincent Murray, Belhaven, N.C., 15 August 1990Audiocassette African American traditional gospel singer of Belhaven, N.C. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/612 |
Metropolitan AME Zion Gospel Choir, Washington, N.C., 9 September 1990Audiocassette African American gospel choir of Washington, N.C. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/613 |
Jones Chapel Mass Choir, Jones Chapel Free Will Baptist, Aurora, N.C., 8 September 1990Audiocassette White old-time gospel choir of Aurora, N.C. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/614 |
Solid Rock Gospel Singers, Missionary Baptist Church, Belhaven, N.C., 5 September 1990Audiocassette White gospel group of Belhaven, N.C. accompanied by piano. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/616 |
Ann Bell, tape 1, Ponzer, N.C., 5 September 1990Audiocassette Self-taught artist who uses water colors with pen and ink to portray everyday scenes from her life and childhood as a sharecropper's daughter. She explains her techniques and style. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/615 |
Ann Bell, tape 2, Ponzer, N.C., 5 September 1990Audiocassette |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/617 |
Hope Mennonite Church Song Service, Hyde County, N.C., 2 September 1990Audiocassette Mennonite gospel choir of Hyde County, N.C. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/618 |
Bill "Meter Man" Ebison, Washington, N.C., 13 August 1990Audiocassette African American composer, singer, and guitarist of Washington, N.C., demonstrates blues, country, Cajun, gospel, and jazz styles, and discusses his work as a composer. He writes and performs songs about his job as a meter reader. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/619 |
White Oak Chapel Church of Christ, Pastor's Anniversary Service, Bath, N.C., 12 August 1990Audiocassette |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/620 |
Omega Nelson and the Spirit of Harmony Singers, Washington, N.C., 1 August 1990Audiocassette Mother and daughters (Shawntell Nelson and Chris Jones) who sing a cappella, contemporary gospel. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/622 |
Ric Gibbs, tape 1, Pantego, N.C., 24 July 1990Audiocassette Local historian and storyteller of local legends and ghost stories. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/621 |
Ric Gibbs, tape 2, Pantego, N.C., 24 July 1990Audiocassette |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/623 |
Jake Zwaal, Terra Ceia, N.C., 1 October 1990Audiocassette White harmonica player of Terra Ceia, N.C., tells of his immigration from Holland, his musical repertoire and style, and the history of the predominantly Dutch Terra Ceia community. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/624 |
Leon Randolph and Lena Perry, Metropolitan AME Church, Washington, N.C., 12 September 1990Audiocassette African American gospel musicians of Washington, N.C., in which they sing gospel songs and discuss their musical backgrounds, the meaning and different styles of gospel music and its role in the church, contemporary and an a cappella gospel and local gospel groups. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/625 |
Willis Pippin, Washington, N.C., 11 September 1990Audiocassette White old-time string band musician of Washington, N.C., recounts his musical background and his interest in buying and repairing violins. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/626 |
Mt Hebron All Male Chorus at White Oak Chapel, Bath, N.C., 9 September 1990Audiocassette Old-time gospel choir who sings "with music." |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/627 |
Jones Chapel Senior Choir, Aurora, N.C., 16 September 1990Audiocassette |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/628 |
Solid Rock Gospel Singers, 1988Audiocassette White contemporary gospel group accompanied by piano. |
SFC Audio Cassette FS-20228/629 |
Grassy Ridge Gospel Quartet, Going HomeAudiocassette |
Arrangement: In order as received.
Processing information: Original folder titles retained. Folders formerly in Southern Folklife Collection Field Notes (#30025), folders 63-71.
Folder 1 |
Newspaper articles |
Folder 2 |
Maps, articles, etc |
Folder 3 |
Maps, etc |
Folder 4 |
Articles |
Folder 5 |
Resource notes |
Folder 6 |
Grant information |
Folder 7 |
Misc. |
Folder 8 |
Photo log, field notes, and summary |
Folder 9 |
Audio tape logs |