Roger D. Abrahams

Mr. Lomax Meets Professor Kittredge

Many scholars have denounced John Avery Lomax's representations of himself and others. But Abrahams argues that it is instructive to consider Lomax's life and work within the scholarly traditions and ideological currents of his times, including a romantic national search for a representative American bard, a literary tradition of recording and presenting vernacular creativity for a general audience, and an environment that emphasized character development and self-instruction as the basis of self-improvement. He asserts that Lomax's self-presentation drew upon numerous tropes that long had been current in American writing and that he promoted himself using techniques that were regarded by contemporary entrepreneurs as appropriate and even inventive. Finally, Abrahams suggests, Lomax benefitted from scholarly patronage, and his subsequent public sponsorship of African American singers can be seen as an extension of the system under which he himself achieved national prominence as the chronicler of American vernacular song traditions.

Jesse G. Truvillion

A Child of the Big Thicket

In this essay, Truvillion describes his discovery of records—in the Library of Congress archives—that folksong collector John A. Lomax made of his father, Henry Truvillion. However, the author's primary goal is to situate his father's artistic products in the context of his relationships with his wife and children, his work as a railroad foreman, and his later call to the ministry. Thus, Truvillion recounts his own experiences as a child growing up in an African American Emancipation Community in the Big Thicket of East Texas, during the last years of the Great Depression. He portrays the ecological diversity of the Thicket itself, as well as the pervasive spirituality of his immediate community, and suggests how life in the Big Thicket gave distinctive meanings to words like work, family, hope, truth, joy, pain, religion, and education.

Patrick B. Mullen

The Dilemma of Representation in Folklore Studies: The Case of Henry Truvillion and John Lomax

Recently, scholars have done much to describe the cultural beliefs and values that influenced the way John A. Lomax perceived African Americans; this study focuses on his relationship with Henry E. Truvillion, a railroad foreman, minister, and gifted singer who was recorded by Lomax in the 1930s and 1940s. Mullen suggests how Lomax's attitudes toward race were influenced by nineteenth-century cultural assumptions about blacks, his emotional early childhood experiences, prevailing scholarly theories, and social and fieldwork contacts. He also draws upon an examination of Lomax's books, articles, and field notes, as well as interviews with Truvillion's son Jesse Garfield Truvillion, to discuss the choices Lomax made in his public representation of the elder Truvillion. In the process, Mullen aims to highlight perceptual gaps and cross-generational similarities—positive and negative—between today's folklorists and those of Lomax's generation.

Nolan Porterfield

Telling the Whole Story: Biography and Representation

As John Lomax's biographer, Porterfield offers in this response his own perspective on the relationship between John Lomax and Henry Truvillion. More broadly, however, he addresses the assumptions and expectations surrounding life stories, considering the evolving functions of biography as well as its methods and ways of looking at them. Porterfield observes that today, biography is often considered a "straightforward process of gathering facts and assembling them, more or less in chronological order." However, he argues, biography is also a creative act and an artistic product—a fact that may prompt us to consider a distinction between finding the True Story and telling the Whole Story.

Olivia Cadaval

"Show Trial or "Truth and Reconciliation"?: A Response

This essay reflects on the growing existence of "collaborative ethnography" as a research goal and method. "Show Trial" and "Truth and Reconciliation"serve as metaphors for understanding the differences that Pat Mullen and Jesse Truvillion bring to their discussions of a joint project. As Cadaval examines entwined issues of reflexivity and "native" perspective—and ultimately the politics of scholarship that concern many who struggle to find equitable modes of research and representation—she also reflects on a legacy of socially engaged scholars, such as Don Américo Paredes and his dialogic conceptualization of the ethnographic encounter. Cadaval argues that this conceptualization can and should be reflected in both field methodology and public presentations.

Elaine J. Lawless

"Reciprocal" Ethnography: No One Said It Was Easy

Here, Lawless seeks to explain in more detail her use of the term "reciprocal ethnography" and to address possible misinterpretations of it. She suggests the potential usefulness of such a concept and also proposes "a modified approach through which Pat Mullen and Jesse Truvillion can, in future work, move more deeply into the issues of ethics, responsibility, narrative constructions, truth, and meaning." By asking a series of specific questions, she challenges the two men to probe further some of the issues that emerge from their writings.

Patrick B. Mullen

Collaborative Research Reconsidered

While investigating the relationship between John Lomax and Henry Truvillion, Mullen recorded extensive interviews with Truvillion's son, Reverend Jesse Truvillion; these interviews developed beyond his original focus to include the latter's life history. Though the two developed a collaborative relationship that was not possible for John Lomax and Henry Truvillion in the 1940s, the joint experience was nevertheless influenced by differences in race, profession, and perspective. With the planned publication of the original research findings, many of these issues were explicitly articulated, as responses by other scholars highlighted some of the challenges of ethnographic research. In this essay Mullen presents additional details about his own ideological perspectives and editorial decisions; he also addresses the difficulties that arise from evaluating different kinds of discourse in terms of similar scholarly frames.

Jesse G. Truvillion

Singing a New Song: Notes on Redemption

In this essay, Truvillion expresses his deep ambivalence about being the "subject" of ethnographic enquiry. Amidst narratives that illustrate both the "redemptive truths" of his parents' lives and the ubiquitous and subtle nature of discrimination and prejudice, Truvillion reflects on the process of being interviewed and interpreted. He calls for ethical, reflective, reciprocal individual and institutional practices, stressing the importance of clearly communicating research goals before, during, and after fieldwork.