Distracted by Alabama: Tangled Threads of Natural History, Local History, and Folklore
Where rivers, railroads, and redhorse fish tell the story of Alabama’s soul.

A gateway to Alabama for the omnivorous mind, Distracted by Alabama is a collection of twelve captivating essays about Alabama and the South by Samford University writer and scholar Jim Brown, a former president of the Alabama Folklife Association.

During his decades living and teaching in Alabama, Brown followed his curiosity down myriad pathways about Alabama and the region, including the state’s majestic landscape, plants and animals found nowhere else, history, and rich folkways. In the tapestry of Alabama culture, Brown traces the threads of Native American, African slave, and European settler influences, woven over the centuries into novel patterns that surprise and fascinate.  

Writing in the voice of a learned companion, Brown reveals insights and stories about unforgettable facets of Alabama culture, such as Sacred Harp singers and African American railroad callers, the use of handmade snares and stationary fishtraps to catch river redhorse and freshwater drum, white oak basketmaking and herbal medicine traditions, the evolution of the single—pen log cabin into the impressive two—story I—house, and a wealth of other engrossing stories.

An instant classic, Distracted by Alabama is a keepsake that readers who love, visit, or are curious about Alabama and Southern culture will return to again and again.
 

1140179305
Distracted by Alabama: Tangled Threads of Natural History, Local History, and Folklore
Where rivers, railroads, and redhorse fish tell the story of Alabama’s soul.

A gateway to Alabama for the omnivorous mind, Distracted by Alabama is a collection of twelve captivating essays about Alabama and the South by Samford University writer and scholar Jim Brown, a former president of the Alabama Folklife Association.

During his decades living and teaching in Alabama, Brown followed his curiosity down myriad pathways about Alabama and the region, including the state’s majestic landscape, plants and animals found nowhere else, history, and rich folkways. In the tapestry of Alabama culture, Brown traces the threads of Native American, African slave, and European settler influences, woven over the centuries into novel patterns that surprise and fascinate.  

Writing in the voice of a learned companion, Brown reveals insights and stories about unforgettable facets of Alabama culture, such as Sacred Harp singers and African American railroad callers, the use of handmade snares and stationary fishtraps to catch river redhorse and freshwater drum, white oak basketmaking and herbal medicine traditions, the evolution of the single—pen log cabin into the impressive two—story I—house, and a wealth of other engrossing stories.

An instant classic, Distracted by Alabama is a keepsake that readers who love, visit, or are curious about Alabama and Southern culture will return to again and again.
 

29.95 In Stock
Distracted by Alabama: Tangled Threads of Natural History, Local History, and Folklore

Distracted by Alabama: Tangled Threads of Natural History, Local History, and Folklore

by James Seay Brown Jr.
Distracted by Alabama: Tangled Threads of Natural History, Local History, and Folklore

Distracted by Alabama: Tangled Threads of Natural History, Local History, and Folklore

by James Seay Brown Jr.

Paperback(First Edition)

$29.95 
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Overview

Where rivers, railroads, and redhorse fish tell the story of Alabama’s soul.

A gateway to Alabama for the omnivorous mind, Distracted by Alabama is a collection of twelve captivating essays about Alabama and the South by Samford University writer and scholar Jim Brown, a former president of the Alabama Folklife Association.

During his decades living and teaching in Alabama, Brown followed his curiosity down myriad pathways about Alabama and the region, including the state’s majestic landscape, plants and animals found nowhere else, history, and rich folkways. In the tapestry of Alabama culture, Brown traces the threads of Native American, African slave, and European settler influences, woven over the centuries into novel patterns that surprise and fascinate.  

Writing in the voice of a learned companion, Brown reveals insights and stories about unforgettable facets of Alabama culture, such as Sacred Harp singers and African American railroad callers, the use of handmade snares and stationary fishtraps to catch river redhorse and freshwater drum, white oak basketmaking and herbal medicine traditions, the evolution of the single—pen log cabin into the impressive two—story I—house, and a wealth of other engrossing stories.

An instant classic, Distracted by Alabama is a keepsake that readers who love, visit, or are curious about Alabama and Southern culture will return to again and again.
 


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780817361655
Publisher: University of Alabama Press
Publication date: 03/15/2024
Edition description: First Edition
Pages: 318
Product dimensions: 8.90(w) x 6.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

James Seay Brown Jr. is emeritus professor of history at Samford University. He is author of Fairy Tales, Patriotism and the Nation—State: The Rise of the Modern West and the Response of the World and editor of Up before Daylight: Life Histories from the Alabama Writers’ Project, 1938-1939. He has served as president of the Alabama Folklife Association and remains active in academic and community life.
 

Table of Contents

Contents

List of Figures

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1. Immersed in the Cahaba River

Chapter 2. Homewood’s Salamander Migration and Festival

Chapter 3. The Archy Culvert, a.k.a. Ross Bridge

Chapter 4. Foxfire, Folk Crafts, and Folkcenter South

Chapter 5. What Wondrous Love Is This: Sacred Harp Singing

Chapter 6. Telescoping Time: Landscape Architecture, Historical Geography, and Greenways

Chapter 7. Herb Doctor Tommie Bass and the Scholars

Chapter 8. Experimenting with Experiential Education

Chapter 9. Survival of the Great Shoal Fishtrap and Other Old Practices

Chapter 10. River Redhorse and the Seasonal Snaring Thereof

Chapter 11. The Mountain Workshop of the Alabama Audubon Society

Chapter 12. For the Amusement of the Boys: John Mealing, Railroad Caller

Epilogue

Notes

Selected Bibliography

Index

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