Kentucky Folktales: Revealing Stories, Truths, and Outright Lies

by Mary Hamilton

Overview

Kentucky Storytelling proposes to collect folktales and stories that have been researched, revised, and perfected by Frankfort-based master storyteller Mary
Hamilton.

The work collects a range of stories from tall tales like "Some Dog" and "Otis
Ayres Had a Dog," to true stories such as "Storm walker" and "Jeff Rides the
Rides." Hamilton will annotate the stories where possible with information on sources, location, variants, and other details. Hamilton has painstakingly transcribed each story as she tells it herself, concluding each with notes on the genesis as well how the story evolved over time in response to audience reaction.
For example, in the story "The Gingerbread Boy," in which a girl exacts revenge on an evil stepmother by eating a magical gingerbread cookie, Hamilton includes information from folklorist Leonard Roberts' original head notes, details which early version influenced her own telling, and notes how audiences react at certain points in the story. Although the stories can and will be enjoyed for their own merits, it is this commentary that will make the work a unique and valuable resource for scholars and professional storytellers.

Kentucky Storytelling will join the Press's established list in regional folklore,
adding Mary Hamilton's name to the list of giants in Appalachian and Kentucky storytelling that includes Ruth Ann Musick, Leonard Roberts, and William
Lynwood Montell. The work will find an enthusiastic audience among lay readers as well as scholars and professionals with an interest in the art and craft of storytelling.

Mary Hamilton, a professional storyteller since 1983, frequently performs at local, regional, and national storytelling festivals and conducts workshops throughout Kentucky on behalf of the Kentucky Arts Council. In 2009 she received the Circle of Excellence Oracle Award from the National Storytelling
Network.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813136004
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	06/29/2012
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	790,516
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Mary Hamilton, a professional storyteller since 1983, frequently performs at local, regional, and national storytelling festivals as well as conducts storytelling workshops around the country. In 2009 she received the Circle of Excellence Oracle Award from the National Storytelling Network.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Haunts, Frights, and Creepy Tales

Introduction 11

Stormwalker 13

Promises to Keep 19

The Gingerbread Boy 27

Little Ripen Pear 36

Flannel Mouth 45

The Blue Light 52

The Open Grave 59

Tall Tales and Outright Lees

Introduction 63

Daniel Boone on the Hunt 65

Farmer Brown's Crop 67

Hunting Alone 70

Otis Ayers Had a Dog-Two Stories 73

Some Dog 76

More Kentucky Folktales

Introduction 93

The Enormous Bear 95

The Farmer's Smart Daughter 106

The Fortune Teller 113

The Princess Who Could Not Cry 117

Rawhead and Bloody Bones 122

Beyond Kentucky Folktales

Introduction 131

Kate Crackernuts 133

The King and His Advisor 151

Rabbit and the Alligators 157

Family Tales and Personal Narratives

Introduction 165

A Place to Start 167

Jeff Rides the Rides 169

Jump Rope Kingdom 173

Mary Helen's Fiancé 180

This Is the Story… 186

Permissions and Acknowledgments 189

Notes 191

Bibliography 211

Index 217

Editorial Reviews

"Winner of a 2013 Storytelling World Resource Award for best storytelling collection." —

"Winner of the Anne Izard Storytellers' Choice Award" —

"This book functions on two levels...great stories which will be fun for the casual reader…along with in depth notes showing how a contemporary storyteller…Mary Hamilton…shapes a tale for telling. Lovers of story will find a lot to delight them in this book. And Kentucky story lovers will just want to grab it and take it home with them to keep!" — Dr. Margaret Read MacDonald, author of Ten Traditional Tellers" —

"Mary Hamilton has given us a fascinating tour of the heart and mind of a contemporary storyteller, weaving together her tales, their sources, and the fabric of her life in which each tale has its lovingly embroidered place." — Joseph D. Sobol, Ph.D., author, The Storytellers' Journey: An American Revival" —

"This book is a goldmine. If you are looking for Kentucky stories, you will find some amazing ones here. If you want to know about how stories were collected in Kentucky, you can learn a lot here. If you want to learn more about the development and process of a brilliant storyteller, you need look no further. Mary Hamilton does Kentucky proud!" — Elizabeth Ellis, Kentucky born storyteller" —

From the Publisher

Professional storyteller and Circle of Excellence Oracle Award winner Hamilton presents examples of those traditional narratives that so many have heard from childhood, especially in the South or in Appalachia. She presents the folktales here in themed chapters arranged by genre, e.g., "Haunts, Frights, and Creepy Tales," incorporating all varieties of story, from family anecdotes and legends to oral histories and a few well-told lies (tall tales). The narratives showcase human nature at its best—kind, brave, and good—and at its worst—ignorant and evil. Hamilton uses vivid prose in presenting this Kentucky collection, including truly local tales as well as ones that will be familiar to all, e.g., about Daniel Boone. Her notes and commentary on the origin of the tales, for example, "Kate Crackernuts," deriving from late 19th-century Scotland, add a valuable scholarly element to the stories. Hamilton invites the reader to "read the stories frozen in print; [but] then thaw them out and bring them to life again,'' and then share them with others. VERDICT This is an entertaining collection of folktales and folklore that will remind all who read it of the value of storytelling to the human imagination. It will encourage readers to explore the lore of their own communities, no matter how near to or far from Kentucky.—Nancy Richey, Western Kentucky Univ. Lib., Bowling Green

Library Journal

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