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THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN CULTURE AND OTHER ESSAYS, Constance Rourke, hardcover, stated first edition, clipped section of inner flap of dust jacket laid in, 1942. ITEM CONDITION: good. The text block is in fine condition, with no tears, dog ears, or marks. The bookplate of a prior owner is affixed to the first free endpaper. Not a library book or remainder. The blue cloth boards are in good condition (bumped spine, which is somewhat faded, shelf wear, slightly cocked spine). 8 ½ x 6, 305 pages, 21 ounces. XX [From the clipped section of the dust jacket] Up to the time of her death in March 1941 Miss Rourke was an authority in a number of related fields of American history about which almost no one else has written. Her discoveries of old diaries, almanacs, prints and paintings, folk songs and stories have earned her recognition as our foremost scholar of American frontier legend. Miss Rourke's work has been particularly distinguished by what might be called living research. She knew oldtime lumberjacks in Michigan and listened to their songs and stories. She talked with old minstrels, vaudeville actors, theatrical managers, stage-coach drivers, miners and mountaineers, and with their help tracked down ballads, songs, stories and folk tales to make them a part of our literary history. Constance Rourke is the author of six books: TRUMPETS OF JUBILEE (1927), the social history of an epoch; TROUPERS OF THE GOLD COAST (1938), the first and only study of American theatricals of the California gold rush; AMERICAN HUMOR, acclaimed for its use of original materials; DAVY CROCKETT (1934) and AUDUBON (1936), outstanding biographies of typical American figures. THE ROOTS OF AMERICAN CULTURE (1942) is the impressive culmination of these earlier studies. XX [Wikipedia] Constance Mayfield Rourke (November 14, 1885 - March 29, 1941) was an American author and educator known for shaping the fields of American studies, American literature, and American folklore. Enrolling in Vassar College in 1903, Rourke focused on social criticism. She learned "that the art of the common people might be as 'good' for humanity as recognized masterpieces, and that the critic could spur democratic reform." She then studied in Europe, including at the Sorbonne, learning about education and literary criticism. On returning, she taught English at Vassar from 1910 to 1915 before turning her focus toward writing. Rourke specialized in American popular culture. She wrote numerous pieces of criticism for magazines like The Nation and The New Republic. Rourke also held that American culture took influence from both Native Americans and African Americans, which had developed and maintained their own forms of culture. Constance Rourke died from a slip on an icy porch way too young. If she had finished her projected five-volume Roots of American Culture, it might have synthesized all her research into a grand Key to the American Scriptures.
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