Article of interest in the Journal of American Folkore

[M. Melissa Elston]

Dear List Members,

The Journal of American Folklore has recently published an article that may be of interest to some of you:

David F. Elmer. "Kita and Kosmos: The Poetics of Ornamentation in Bosniac and Homeric Epic." Journal of American Folklore 123.489 (2010): 276-303.

Abstract:
Milman Parry recorded detailed interviews with Bosniac singers of oral epic. Based on an analysis of these recordings, this article extends Parry's comparison of poetic form in Bosniac and Homeric epic to examine the internal aesthetic criteria of these traditions. The comparison hinges on the similarity of the Bosniac notion of kita, which refers to the ornamental, descriptive details of a song, and the Homeric notion of kosmos, which refers to the orderly arrangement of details. These concepts are similar insofar as each involves the negotiation of the relationship between a notional reality in the past and the representation of that reality in epic song. The ways in which both traditions address this relationship point to the importance of concrete imagery for the stability of memory in oral tradition.

The article is available through the print journal, and also in full text at Project Muse:
http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_american_folklore/summary/v123/123.489.elmer.html

The Journal of American Folklore is the journal of the American Folklore Society.  Information about JAF can be found at:
http://www.afsnet.org/publications/jaf.cfm.

With best regards,
--

M. Melissa Elston
Editorial Assistant, Journal of American Folklore

Office: Blocker 233C

Department of English
Texas A&M University
227 Blocker Building
Mailstop 4227 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843
(432) 258-5109

http://tinyurl.com/elst-pg

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