What Brian said. There's a huge amount of unpacking to be done with the article. My own area (songs of work) I see as grossly underestimated in what passes for American folk music, with the exception (inter alia) of Larry Hanks' work. I think of mainstream culture as a roaring torrent, against which all other cultures have to struggle, as salmon heading upstream. There are various pools where the current is not too strong, and we can kid ourselves (historically) that we, representing traditional vernacular culture can made some kind of headway (the Big Folk Scare of the 60's, for example). Swept downstream are subaltern cultures - the mid-west, the working songs of the south, the Polish, Russian and German traditions of the old east coast, the almost extinguished culture of French language material from the mills of New England as from the bayous of Louisiana, and the Spanish language cultures of the southwest. Are there vehicles for the kind of discussion Brian is looking for?

Jon Bartlett