The New Old Times: Reviews

In the summer of 1936, over one hundred fiddle tunes, many of them unique, along with thousands of songs, were collected and notated throughout a large part of Mississippi. However, this music was left unpublished and almost forgotten.

Then in 1939, building on the contacts made three years earlier, Herbert Halpert led one of the last and best executed of the WPA audio folklore projects in Mississippi. Some, but not all, of those distinctive fiddle tune recordings have been published. Harry Bolick, with Stephen T. Austin, has transcribed the subsequent 1939 audio recordings, and now this great music is widely available in Mississippi Fiddle Tunes and Songs from the 1930s.

The 432 page book includes over 300 tunes collected as sheet music in 1936 and transcribed from the 1939 WPA field recordings along with beautiful photos and bios for most of the 1939 sources. Including a tantalizing number of tunes collected from African-Americans playing in the Anglo Southern fiddle style."

The book and the CD can be purchased on Amazon directly from the University Press of Mississippi.

Get Harry Bolick's CD Tunes from the Book, with 22 of his favorites, as well as more information, a video, and free downloads of the sound files at www.mississippifiddle.com.

A 3-CD set of all the fiddle and banjo recordings made by Halpert’s team in 1939 is also available for purchase from Document Records here

Trump Sonnets-- 3 Full-Length Poetry Collections by Ken Waldman
Nov. 2, 2018	Ken Waldman's First Published Poetry Collection in a Decade
Reviewed by Mark Tamsula The day after the 2016 November presidential election, Ken Waldman jotted a phrase: "Before long, Donald Trump would make former president, George W. Bush, look like a statesman." That insight led to a sonnet, which led to dozens more. By mid-December, he had enough for Trump Sonnets, Volume 1, which Ridgeway Press of Roseville, Michigan immediately published, and which Ken had in his hands by the inauguration. Trump Sonnets, Volume 1, is a face off on a ball court of truth vs.reality. Each sonnet fires off 14 lines of astonishment and despair at the country's highest elected official. Every volley met and returned by tweets of ludicrous lewdness, read directly from Donald Trump's mind, and in his voice. 71 sonnets, covering the first fifty days of this administration. What soon followed was Trump Sonnets, Volume 2, which Ken wrote while on tour in spring 2017. Half of this sequel's 66 poems are incisive commentary (and include poems for Mitch McConnell, Jeff Sessions, and Sean Spicer/Sarah Huckabee Sanders in addition to the Trump ones). For the other half Ken intrepidly submerges into the subconscious realm of Trump's dreams that he imagines Donald Trump might have. No analysis, therapy or explanation is suggested, just raw footage from inside the mind of the man who could destroy us all. In the summer of 2017, Ken wrote an essay, "Donald Trump is My Muse," to try and explain the deluge of poems. His stage show also titled "Donald Trump is My Muse" features these poems. From fall 2017 to spring 2018, he wrote Trump Sonnets, Volume 3: The International Edition. Volume 3 transcends the view from the mountain top to span the entire planet, like a cable package connecting directly to the minds and hearts of people in over 70 countries. Ken Waldman is no longer just channeling himself and Donald Trump, he is now channeling the conscience of the whole country, from the perspective of the entire world. For those of you who have avoided doing, or saying, or thinking anything about this situation we're in, here is your cathartic. Give these poems a chance to be the outlet of your frustration, to realize for yourself where you stand, but aren’t comfortable, or up to the task of saying it aloud. People have asked if there will be a Volume 4. Waldman says only that he's doing his job as an engaged citizen. Since 1994, Ken Waldman has made his living as a freelance writer, musician, performer, and educator, and has appeared at leading festivals, performing arts centers, concert series, colleges, and clubs throughout North America. He combines Appalachian-style string-band music, original poetry, and Alaska-set storytelling for a performance uniquely his.
	Nine CDs include two for children. Eleven books include a kids' book, a memoir (about his life as a touring artist), and nine full-length poetry collections. :8^{>~ There's more about this project at www.trumpsonnets.com and more about Ken at www.kenwaldman.com

The Original Artwork of
Robert H. Yonke, Jr.
"The Bluegrass Painter"

May 5, 2004
Reviewed by Mark Tamsula

I take much pride in recommending you visit this site. It's a wonderful collection of music theme art by a really great guy, Robert Yonke. I had the pleasure of getting to know "Fiddlin' Bob" a few years ago, and I was completely taken by surprise when he sent me a holiday card illustrated by his own hand. His gallery displays much of his own life and interests, from rural scenes of Garrett County, Maryland, picturesque views of Deep Creek, and many portraits depicting the spontaneity and colorful energy of festivals and jam sessions. I hope you enjoy it.
Mark :8^{>~

http://www.appalachianstudio.com



www.snappinbug.com