Folklore is everywhere, whether you are aware of it or not. A 
culture's traditional knowledge is used to remember the past and 
maintain traditions, to communicate with other members within a 
community, to learn, to celebrate, and to express creativity. It is what 
helps distinguish one culture from another. Although folklore is so 
much a part of our daily lives, we often lose sight of just how integral 
it is to everything we do. If we look for it, we can find folklore in 
places where we'd never think it existed.

    Folklore: In All of Us, In All We Do includes articles on a variety 
of topics. One chapter looks at how folklore and history complement 
one another; while historical records provide facts about dates, 
places and names, folklore brings those events and people to life 
by making them relevant to us. Several articles examine the 
cultural roles women fill. Other articles feature folklore of particular 
groups, including oil field workers, mail carriers, doctors, engineers, 
police officers, horse traders, and politicians. There is also an article 
on how teachers can use writing in the classroom as a means of 
keeping alive the storytelling tradition.

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KENNETH L. UNTIEDT is the Secretary-Editor of the Texas Folklore 
Society and teaches English at Stephen F. Austin State University. 
He earned bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Texas 
Tech University. He and his wife Tierney have four children and live in 
Nacogdoches, Texas.


Publications of the Texas Folklore Society LXIII