GREENSBORO – Author and musical performer Sarah Jane Nelson spent almost a decade researching and writing about the life of Ozark ballad collector Max Hunter. She will talk about her resulting book “Ballad Hunting with Max Hunter: Stories of an Ozark Folksong Collector” at the Greensboro Free Library on Wednesday, July 19, at 5 p.m. One night in August 2016, when she was searching the internet for “new” old songs to perform, a friend suggested she look at the Max Hunter Folksong Collection. She stayed up well past midnight listening to the digitized recordings and wondering about their collector. How was it that a mid-century traveling salesman from Missouri managed to record such a vast number of singers with such a variety of songs? What motivated him to do this work? All big projects start with big questions and end with some new ones. Nelson will discuss her process of discovery as well as the ways in which Hunter’s life intersected with those of his ballad bearers, and throughout the program, she will sing songs from the collection. Everyone is welcome to this free program. For more information, contact the library at (802) 533-2531 or [email protected].
