ABOUT THE MAGAZINE
Kentucky Folklife is a multimedia1 digital publication dedicated to highlighting emergent contributors2 exploring what we call “folklife,”3 or diverse expressive cultures4, across the Commonwealth.
1 Our digital magazine accept entries in a variety of media, including written essays, photo essays, audio/video productions, and artistic interpretations like poetry and visual arts. If your project style is not listed, just ask one of our editors! We are open to exploring new ways of presenting the documentation of expressive culture and traditions.
2 We’ve discovered that many people around the Commonwealth are doing great folklife research and cultural conservation work without even calling it by those names. So we created a place for sharing research and work centered on Kentucky folklife. We encourage entries from folks working in a variety of fields and at all levels. Whether you’re a chef, park ranger, painter, Community Scholar, teacher, community activist, the family archivist, or have a degree in folklore or related fields, editors will work with you collaboratively to hone your piece for publication.
3 Folklife is another word for the expressive culture of everyday life. Folklorists—along with others who document, present, and conserve folklife—have used the term since about the 1960s to suggest a broader approach to those activities, practices, and products that we also call folklore.
4 Kentucky Folklife is interested in those traditions, both old AND new, done by everyday people that make the Commonwealth a distinctive place to live.
Food, occupation, recreation, stories, hobbies, artistic expression, gatherings, and more are all part of the ties that bind us and sometimes divide us. By exploring all these expressions of culture, no matter how seemingly small, we explore our humanity and interdependence.
MAGAZINE STAFF
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Delainey Bowers
KENTUCKY FOLKLIFE PROGRAM DIRECTOR
Brent Bjorkman
EDITORIAL BOARD
Tammy Clemons
Ann K. Ferrell
Judith Jennings
Nathan Lynn
Michael Morrow
Theresa Osborne
Maxine Ray
Sarah Schmitt
Ethan Sharp
Kentucky Folklife digital magazine is made possible by support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Kentucky Folklife Program, and the Folk Studies & Anthropology Department at Western Kentucky University.