Backwoods humorists everywhere have a predilection for the tall tale, and the Ozark hill man is no exception.

We Always Lie to Strangers: Tall Tales from the Ozarks

RANDOLPH, VANCE

Columbia University Press

Wonderful folktales from the Ozark areas. "One time there was a fellow named Lissenbee, and the trouble was that he couldn't keep nothing to himself," begins the tale of the Talking Turtle. Fun stories amusingly written.

The Talking Turtle and Other Ozark Folk Tales

Literature & Fiction

Mythology & Folk Tales

Pissing in the Snow and Other Ozark Folktales

The well-known Ozark folklorist gathers together bawdy tales, previously considered unprintable, that provide insight into the region's rich exotic narrative tradition

United States

University of Illinois Press

Ozark Superstitions

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

History

Franklin Classics

History & Criticism

Avon/Books

An Ozark folktale and classic work of Americana by America's premier folklorist, Vance Randolph. Randolph collected a massive collection of folktales, folksongs, and ballad materials while working and living in the Ozarks for 40 years. Pissing in the Snow is a baldy, humorous story of Ozark life and the Ozark people. The author faught a long battle to have his book published. This baldy tale was considered to be too extreme.

Pissing in the Snow, and Other Ozark Folktales

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

The Ozark region of Missouri and Arkansas has long been an enclave of resistance to innovation and "newfangled" ideas. Many of the old-time superstitions and customs have been nurtured and kept alive through the area's relative isolation and the strong attachment of the hillfolk to these old attitudes. Though modern science and education have been making important inroads in the last few decades, the region is still a fertile source of quaint ideas, observances, and traditions. People are normally reticent about their deepest beliefs, especially with outsiders. The author, however, has lived in the Ozarks since 1920 and has long since been a student of Ozark life—and a writer of a number of books and articles on various aspects of the subject. Through casual conversations rather than by direct questioning, he has been able gradually to compile a singularly authentic record of Ozark superstition. His book contains a vast amount of folkloristic material, including legends, beliefs, ritual verses and sayings and odd practices of the hillpeople, plus a wealth of general cultural data. Mr. Randolph discusses weather signs; beliefs about auspicious times for planting crops, butchering hogs, etc.; prenatal influence in "marking" babies; backwoods beauty treatments; lucky charms, omens and auguries; courtship jinxes, love potions, etc.; dummy suppers; and numerous other customs and convictions—many racy and amusing, others somewhat grisly or spooky. Here you'll meet and learn about the yarb doctor who prepared curious remedies of herbs and odd concoctions; power doctors who use charms, spells, and exorcism to effect cures; granny-women (mountain midwives); "doodlebuggers" and witch wigglers who find water with the aid of divining rods; "conjurefolk" and Holy Rollers; witches and goomer doctors; clairvoyants and fortune-tellers; plus the ordinary finger-crossing, wish-making citizens of the area. The general reader as well as the specialist in particular fields of cultural anthropology, etc. will truly enjoy this lively survey of lore and practice—a little-known but fascinating slice of American life. Its gentle humor takes the reader into the hills with the author. The book deserves a place in any general collection of Americana and in all collections of folklore," U.S. QUARTERLY BOOKLIST. "A veritable treasury of backwoods custom and belief… [ a ] wealth of circumstantial detail and cultural background," Carl Withers, N.Y. TIMES.

Ozark Magic and Folklore

Religion & Spirituality

Dover Publications

Ozark Folksongs: British Ballads and Songs, Vol. 1

Reference

Univ of Missouri Pr

Songs of the South and West (Ozark Folksongs)

Arts & Photography

Music

Univ of Missouri Press

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Books by RANDOLPH, VANCE