Folk Music and Song in the WPA Ex-Slave Narratives by John Minton is out now as the first complete account of the music, song, and dance documented in the WPA ex-slave narratives. Drawn from interviews conducted between 1937 and 1940 with roughly 3,500 formerly enslaved people, the book examines one of the most significant bodies of African American folklore ever assembled. Minton situates these musical traditions within the lived realities of slavery, the Civil War, Emancipation, Reconstruction, and the rise of Southern apartheid, grounding every song and practice in its social and historical setting.
Extensively quoted, fully annotated, and carefully indexed, the volume traces spirituals, hymns, work songs, ballads, minstrel songs, ring plays, dances, lullabies, and more, offering detailed references for every musical item mentioned in the narratives. With 134 illustrations and a clear overview of how the narratives were collected and preserved, the book opens this vast archive to both scholars and general readers. Recently honored with the 2025 Wayland D. Hand Book Prize and a Special Award for Scholarly Excellence and Cultural Impact from the American Folklore Society, the work stands as a definitive resource on music, memory, and African American cultural history.