It has been awhile since I last posted, and a lot has happened. The project work continues, slow but sure, but there have been some new developments worth posting.
First, I have a publisher for These Are Our Stories. University Press of America has agreed to publish the book. Of course, there are a few catches. First, I have to make the book camera ready according the the press' standards. Second, I have to sell 50 copies of the book before actual publication. I don't know how much the book will cost; I believe that is determined after I make it camera ready. So we shall see.
I am hoping to have the book out by winter 2006. This will be a unique contribution to the literature on domestic violence, given that it is a book of transcripts with a brief introduction, a resource guide, and a brief bibliography. I really want the transcripts to speak for themselves here and not douse the voices with any strict analysis. I don't know how acceptable that is, but I am going to do it anyway.
The second piece of news is that Erica has been busy with her autobiography Don't Go Back, and I am currently editing Chapter Three. I don't quite know how many chapters she has planned, but as one reader put it, the work is a "page turner." I finally met Erica at her home in South Carolina where she shared more of her story as well as documentation of the abuse in her second marriage. She plans on including excerpts from police reports and a deposition in the book.
I have completed, for the time being, editing my paper on a folkloristic theory of folklore and education. With luck I will read it at the meeting of the Florida Folklore Society as a dry run for presenting it at the American Folklore Society meeting in 2005.
I have two project ideas, both of which will require fieldwork. The first project is a revisitation of forestry fieldwork I did with Florida Folklife Programs in 1989. I want to revisit fieldwork from then and follow up on forestry culture today. If this works out, the project will produce a booklet aimed toward the centennial celebration of the US Forest Service in 2005.
The second project is fleshing out fieldwork conducted with Tallahassee area tradition bearers already identified by Florida Folklife Programs. The fieldwork would be incorporated in the Programs' web site.
I don't know if any of these projects will fly. I meet with the state folklorist on 22 November to discuss my ideas. Funding, of course, will be an issue. Hopefully the Florida Division of Cultural Affairs will support one or both projects. I also hope the Florida division of the US Forest Service will be supportive. We shall see.
My days have been filled with project planning and working on current projects. The great thing about these projects is that they are currently inexpensive to work on. This might change with future projects, but for now, everything is under control.
