Alan Lomax: Selected Writings 1934–1997
General Introduction
by Ronald D.Cohen
Alan Lomax lived a long and exceptionally fruitful and influential life. Born on January 31, 1915, he survived until July 19, 2002, and for seven decades he substantially contributed to the collection, study, understanding, and promotion of “folk music,” first in the United States, then throughout the world. As a teenager he accompanied his father on southern collecting trips,
and even managed to publish his first article before turning twenty, the start of a most prolific career. Through his numerous articles and books, we are able to gain some understanding of his musical values, interests, and ideas as they continued to develop into his eighth decade. Alan Lomax: Selected Writings 1934–1997 is an attempt to make available a judicious selection of his work
covering his entire career, including the highly theoretical studies by the
1970s. We have not included book passages, since these should be read as
part of the larger works, and are also more readily accessible. But many of
these shorter writings—while most, but not all, were published—are
difficult, if not impossible to obtain, and are presented here as originally
printed or written. There has been virtually no attempt to edit, delete, update,
or further elaborate, except in the introductory essays to each section or when
absolutely/necessary.
Since there is currently no full biography of Alan Lomax, but only
scattered brief studies and interpretations, we have tried to pull together
enough information in the section introductions, by Ed Kahn, Andrew Kaye,
Matthew Barton, Ronald Cohen, and Gage Averill, to give a general
overview of his varied activities and contributions, as well as a nuanced
explication of his actions and ideas. These essays are only the beginning,
however, as considerably more work will have to be done before a
“complete” picture will emerge of his rich and complex, as well as
controversial, life. Thankfully, Nolan Porterfield has explored the careers of
his father in Last Cavalier: The Life and Times of John A.Lomax (Urbana:
University of Illinois Press, 1996), which includes substantial information on
Alan’s life through the mid-1940s. Otherwise, the story is far from complete,
but we hope this volume will provide enough information to serve as a
stimulus for future studies. In addition, there are the most helpful notes to the
ongoing Rounder Records Lomax Collection reissue series, eventually
scheduled to number 150 or so CDs, which extend our knowledge of his
varied musical life. Alan Lomax was not only a collector, writer, and
ethnomusicologist, but also a producer, performer, radio personality,
promoter, filmmaker, and political activist, particularly in the United States
and the British Isles. Indeed, his political life often consisted of behind-thescenes
activities, but he consistently held to a left-of-center agenda. Not all
aspects of his life are touched on in his writings, but a lot can be discerned
from other source materials, such as the Lomax Archives, the Lomax family
collection in the Center for American History at the University of Texas, and
the collections of the Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center of
the Library of Congress.
I wish to thank Richard Carlin, our most supportive and helpful editor at
Routledge, for perceiving the wisdom of this book from its inception, and
seeing it through to publication. Anna Lomax Chairetakis first recommended
that Routledge might be interested, and she has been consistently helpful in
providing her usual guidance, wisdom, and support as the project proceeded.
Matt Barton has not only participated in writing two of the introductory
essays, but he also selected the illustrations, with the assistance of Nathan
Salsburg and the Lomax Archives staff, and the contents of the Rounder
sampler CD, and in numerous other ways assisted in providing the requisite
publications and bibliographic information, without which this volume could
not have been published. Bill Nowlin at Rounder Records understood the
value of a sampler CD and guaranteed its production and inclusion. Andrew
Kaye and Gage Averill have been delightful to work with. Unfortunately, my
good friend Ed Kahn died before he was able to relish his essay as a vital
part of this book. His death is a great loss to folklore studies. I also want to
personally thank the library staff at Indiana University Northwest,
particularly Anne Koehler, for her assistance in locating rare publications.