Masters of Traditional Arts: A Biographical Dictionary

Govenar, Alan

ISBN 10: 1576072401 ISBN 13: 9781576072400

Publisher: ABC-Clio Ltd, 2001

Synopsis

Besieged examines the most important sieges in historyłthe actions and motivations of attackers and defenders along with conditions inside and outside the city walls.



In a cycle repeated throughout history, people have congregated in walled cities for mutual protection, and then attackers, lured by the wealth behind the city walls, have laid siege. This fascinating volume examines the most important sieges in world history from the earliest times to the present.



From Joshua's assault on Jericho in the 15th century B.C. to the Russian attack on the Chechen capital of Grozny at the end of the 20th century, siege warfare has been a recurring theme in the human story. Again and again, engineers have built supposedly impregnable fortifications, only to see them overrun by an ingenious enemy.



In Besieged , military historian Paul F. Davis analyzes the most crucial sieges in world history, such as the siege of Leningrad, which weakened the Nazi forces in World War II, and that of the Alamo, which culminated in independence for Texas. He also describes important sieges unfamiliar to most readers, such as that of Arcot, where a British victory halted the French takeover of southern India. In engaging, accessible language, Davis tracks the invention of new technologies, analyzes innovative tactics, and tells the human story of conditions both inside and outside the city walls.

About this title

About the Author

Alan Govenar, PhD, is founder and president of Documentary Arts and is a writer, folklorist, filmmaker, and photographer.

Reviews

Grade 9 Up-This resource chronicles the lives and careers of the 259 recipients of the National Heritage Fellowship, awarded annually since 1982 by the National Endowment for the Arts to individual practitioners of folk and traditional arts. Arranged alphabetically by artist's name, the entries do not follow a standard format, other than including the subjects' birth (and, where applicable, death), and dates and fields of artistic endeavor, and are not comprehensive biographies. Instead, they present an informative, anecdotal overview of those aspects of the subjects' lives that directly influenced their professional development. Each one- to three-page entry, based primarily on interviews with the artist, is accompanied by at least one black-and-white photograph, usually a portrait. Further resources on each artist are listed in the "Selected Bibliography, Discography, Filmography" which precedes the general index. The general index has an inconsistent format: a search for blues music yields a list of musicians with the page numbers of their entries, but under Cajun music there are only page references and no musicians' names. It is disappointing that the articles, especially those on quilters and other textile artists, do not include color photographs of their work. However, in his introduction, the editor mentions related DVD-ROM and interactive Internet resources. This set will be especially useful in large public libraries, academic libraries, art schools, music conservatories, and secondary schools that specialize in the arts.
Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The National Endowment for the Arts began the National Heritage Fellowship program in 1982 to recognize outstanding individual artists and different cultural styles. Nominated by the American public and selected by a panel of folklorists, ethnomusicologists, artists, and cultural specialists, fellows are chosen for their contributions to folk arts, mainly music, dance, crafts, and spoken-word traditions.

This set surveys the first 20 years of the National Heritage program by providing information about the lives and careers of the fellowship recipients. More than 250 artists profiled A-Z by name include accordionists, beadworkers, blues guitarists, hula masters, metalsmiths, quilters, saddle makers, santos carvers, singers, and storytellers. A photograph of the recipient and such basic information as craft, ethnic identification, and the artist's place and date of birth introduce individual entries. The entries themselves are short, usually a page or two, and are descriptive and biographical rather than analytical. Except for examples which appear in some artists' portraits, there are no photographs of artworks. Much of the entry material came from the program books created by the staff of the folk and traditional arts program of the NEA. The set includes a selected bibliography, discography, and filmography; a resource list; and a useful index. The index helps the reader locate entries by art form or ethnic heritage.

As an overview of the National Heritage Fellowship program's many folk and traditional art forms, this set will be of particular interest to libraries and teachers specializing in American folklore, cultural arts, and traditions. This set will complement the coverage of the Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists (Abbeville, 1990). RBB
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

For this unique biographical dictionary, folklorist/filmmaker Govenar draws on 20 years of interviews with participants in the National Heritage Fellowship program, a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) program honoring American artists who practice the traditional or folk arts. Those represented include Afro-Cuban drummers, Ukrainian American egg decorators, Native American basket makers, African American tap dancers, Basque American accordionists, and Anglo American quilters. Arranged alphabetically by name, the entries each begin with a black-and-white photograph of the artist and list his or her ethnic identification. The essays, one to two pages of straightforward text, provide biographical information and details about the person's craft while also recognizing ethnic and cultural influences. The second volume concludes with an appendix about the Bess Lomax Hawes Award, the NEA's annual prize for excellence in the folk and traditional arts; as this was introduced in 2000, there are currently two entries. The book also features a resource list facilitating further research about the Heritage Fellows, a selected bibliography, discography, and filmography arranged by the artists' names, and an index that covers nationalities, ethnic groups, art forms, and personal names. Recommended for most public and academic libraries with an interest in the arts or ethnic and cultural studies. Cynthia A. Johnson, Barnard Coll. Lib., New York

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: ABC-Clio Ltd
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1576072401
• ISBN 13: 9781576072400
• Binding: Library Binding
• Number of pages: 754