Harold Courlander
Encyclopedia
Harold Courlander was an American
novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist, an expert in the study of Haiti
an life. The author of 35 books and plays and numerous scholarly articles, Courlander specialized in the study of African, Caribbean
, Afro-American (U.S.), and American Indian
cultures. He took a special interest in oral literature
, cults, and Afro-American cultural connections with Africa.
, Indiana, the son of noted American painter, David Courlander of Detroit, Michigan
. Courlander received a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan
in 1931. At the University of Michigan, he received three Avery Hopwood Awards
(one in drama and two in literary criticism). He attended graduate school at the University of Michigan and Columbia University
. He spent time in the 1930s on a farm in Romeo, Michigan
. There, he built a one-room log cabin in the woods where he spent much of his time writing.
With the prize money from the Hopwood Awards, Courlander took his first field trip to Haiti
, inspired by the writings of William Buehler Seabrook
. In 1939, he published his first book about Haitian life entitled Haiti Singing. Over the next 30 years, he traveled to Haiti more than 20 times. His research focused on religious practices, African retentions, oral traditions, folklore
, music
, and dance
. His book, The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People, published in 1960, became a classic text for the study of Haitian culture.
Courlander also took numerous field trips to the southern United States
, recording folk music
in the 1940s and 1950s. From 1947–1960, he served as a general editor of Ethnic Folkways Library (he actually devised the label name) and recorded more than 30 albums of music from different cultures (e.g., the cultures of Indonesia
, Ethiopia
, West Africa
, Haiti, and Cuba
). In 1950, he also did field recordings in Alabama
later transcribed by John Benson Brooks
.
In the 1960s, Courlander began a series of field trips to the American Southwest to study the oral literature and culture of the Hopi Indians. His collection of folk tales, People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians, was issued in 1970 and was quickly recognized as an indispensable work in the study of oral literature.
From 1942-43, during World War II
, Harold Courlander served as a historian for the Air Transport Command
for the Douglas Aircraft Project 19 in Gura, Eritrea
. Courlander then worked as a writer and editor for the Office of War Information in New York
and Bombay, India
, from 1943-46. From 1946 until 1956, he worked as a news writer and news analyst for the Voice of America
in New York City. He was an information specialist and speech writer for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
from 1956–1957. He was a writer and editor for The United Nations Review from 1957–1960. From 1960 until 1974, Courlander was African specialist, Caribbean specialist, feature writer, and senior news analyst for the Voice of America in Washington, D.C.
.
Always sympathetic to the plight of animals, Courlander, in his later years would write with his rescued, mixed German Shepherd dog, Sandy, at his side. Even in the 1990s, Courlander still used the same Royal typewriter
he had purchased in the 1940s. Courlander never learned typing
as they teach it in school and always typed his manuscripts using two fingers.
, the author of Roots
, had copied 81 passages from his novel.
Courlander's pre-trial memorandum in the copyright infringement law suit stated: "Defendant Haley had access to and substantially copied from The African. Without The African, Roots would have been a very different and less successful novel, and indeed it is doubtful that Mr. Haley could have written Roots without The African.... Mr. Haley copied language, thoughts, attitudes, incidents, situations, plot and character."
In his Expert Witness Report submitted to federal court, Professor of English Michael Wood
of Columbia University
stated: "The evidence of copying from The African in both the novel and the television dramatization of Roots is clear and irrefutable. The copying is significant and extensive. ... Roots... plainly uses The African as a model: as something to be copied at some times, and at other times to be modified, but always it seems, to be consulted. ... Roots takes from The African phrases, situations, ideas, aspects of style and plot. Roots finds in The African essential elements for its depiction of such things as a slave's thoughts of escape, the psychology of an old slave, the habits of mind of the hero, and the whole sense of life on an infamous slave ship. Such things are the life of a novel; and when they appear in Roots, they are the life of someone else's novel."
After a five-week trial in federal district court, Courlander and Haley settled the case with a financial settlement and a statement that "Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials from The African by Harold Courlander found their way into his book, Roots."
During the trial, presiding U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Ward
stated, "Copying there is, period." In a later interview with BBC Television, Judge Ward stated, "Alex Haley perpetrated a hoax on the public."
During the trial, Alex Haley had maintained that he had not read The African before writing Roots. Shortly after the trial, however, a minority studies teacher at Skidmore College
, Joseph Bruchac
, came forward and swore in an affidavit
that he had discussed The African with Haley in 1970 or 1971 and had given his own personal copy of The African to Haley, events that took place a good number of years prior to the publication of Roots.
Courlander married Emma Meltzer June 18, 1949. They had two children, Michael Courlander and Susan Jean Courlander.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist, an expert in the study of Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
an life. The author of 35 books and plays and numerous scholarly articles, Courlander specialized in the study of African, Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Afro-American (U.S.), and American Indian
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
cultures. He took a special interest in oral literature
Oral literature
Oral literature corresponds in the sphere of the spoken word to literature as literature operates in the domain of the written word. It thus forms a generally more fundamental component of culture, but operates in many ways as one might expect literature to do...
, cults, and Afro-American cultural connections with Africa.
Life and work
Courlander was born in IndianapolisIndianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Indiana, the son of noted American painter, David Courlander of Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
. Courlander received a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in 1931. At the University of Michigan, he received three Avery Hopwood Awards
Hopwood Award
The Hopwood Awards are a major scholarship program at the University of Michigan, founded by Avery Hopwood.Under the terms of the will of Avery Hopwood, a prominent American dramatist and member of the Class of 1905 of The University of Michigan, one-fifth of Mr. Hopwood's estate was given to the...
(one in drama and two in literary criticism). He attended graduate school at the University of Michigan and Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. He spent time in the 1930s on a farm in Romeo, Michigan
Romeo, Michigan
Romeo is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,721 at the 2000 census. The village is situated at the southeast corner of Bruce Township, with a portion extending south into Washington Township. Armada Township is adjacent to the east and Ray Township to the...
. There, he built a one-room log cabin in the woods where he spent much of his time writing.
With the prize money from the Hopwood Awards, Courlander took his first field trip to Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
, inspired by the writings of William Buehler Seabrook
William Buehler Seabrook
William Buehler Seabrook was an American Lost Generation occultist, explorer, traveller, cannibal, and journalist, born in Westminster, Maryland. He began his career as a reporter and City Editor of the Augusta Chronicle in Georgia...
. In 1939, he published his first book about Haitian life entitled Haiti Singing. Over the next 30 years, he traveled to Haiti more than 20 times. His research focused on religious practices, African retentions, oral traditions, folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
, music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
, and dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
. His book, The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People, published in 1960, became a classic text for the study of Haitian culture.
Courlander also took numerous field trips to the southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
, recording folk music
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
in the 1940s and 1950s. From 1947–1960, he served as a general editor of Ethnic Folkways Library (he actually devised the label name) and recorded more than 30 albums of music from different cultures (e.g., the cultures of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
, Haiti, and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
). In 1950, he also did field recordings in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
later transcribed by John Benson Brooks
John Benson Brooks
John Benson Brooks was an American jazz pianist, songwriter, arranger, and composer....
.
In the 1960s, Courlander began a series of field trips to the American Southwest to study the oral literature and culture of the Hopi Indians. His collection of folk tales, People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians, was issued in 1970 and was quickly recognized as an indispensable work in the study of oral literature.
From 1942-43, during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Harold Courlander served as a historian for the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
for the Douglas Aircraft Project 19 in Gura, Eritrea
Eritrea
Eritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
. Courlander then worked as a writer and editor for the Office of War Information in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and Bombay, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, from 1943-46. From 1946 until 1956, he worked as a news writer and news analyst for the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
in New York City. He was an information specialist and speech writer for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations
United States Ambassador to the United Nations
The United States Ambassador to the United Nations is the leader of the U.S. delegation, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. The position is more formally known as the "Permanent Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations, with the rank and status of Ambassador...
from 1956–1957. He was a writer and editor for The United Nations Review from 1957–1960. From 1960 until 1974, Courlander was African specialist, Caribbean specialist, feature writer, and senior news analyst for the Voice of America in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
.
Always sympathetic to the plight of animals, Courlander, in his later years would write with his rescued, mixed German Shepherd dog, Sandy, at his side. Even in the 1990s, Courlander still used the same Royal typewriter
Royal Typewriter Company
The Royal Typewriter Company was a manufacturer of typewriters headquartered in New York City with its factory in Hartford, Connecticut.-History:...
he had purchased in the 1940s. Courlander never learned typing
Typing
Typing is the process of inputting text into a device, such as a typewriter, cell phone, computer, or a calculator, by pressing keys on a keyboard. It can be distinguished from other means of input, such as the use of pointing devices like the computer mouse, and text input via speech...
as they teach it in school and always typed his manuscripts using two fingers.
Roots and the issue of plagiarism
Courlander wrote seven novels, his most famous being The African, published in 1967. The novel was the story of a slave's capture in Africa, his experiences aboard a slave ship, and his struggle to retain his native culture in a hostile new world. In 1978, Courlander filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, charging that Alex HaleyAlex Haley
Alexander Murray Palmer Haley was an African-American writer. He is best known as the author of Roots: The Saga of an American Family and the coauthor of The Autobiography of Malcolm X.-Early life:...
, the author of Roots
Roots: The Saga of an American Family
Roots: The Saga of an American Family is a novel written by Alex Haley and first published in 1976. It tells the story of Kunta Kinte, an 18th-century African, captured as an adolescent and sold into slavery in the United States, and follows his life and the lives of his descendants in the U.S....
, had copied 81 passages from his novel.
Courlander's pre-trial memorandum in the copyright infringement law suit stated: "Defendant Haley had access to and substantially copied from The African. Without The African, Roots would have been a very different and less successful novel, and indeed it is doubtful that Mr. Haley could have written Roots without The African.... Mr. Haley copied language, thoughts, attitudes, incidents, situations, plot and character."
In his Expert Witness Report submitted to federal court, Professor of English Michael Wood
Michael Wood (academic)
Michael Wood born in Lincoln, England, is the Charles Barnwell Straut Class of 1923 Professor of English and Professor of comparative literature at Princeton University. He is an alumnus of St John's College, Cambridge....
of Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
stated: "The evidence of copying from The African in both the novel and the television dramatization of Roots is clear and irrefutable. The copying is significant and extensive. ... Roots... plainly uses The African as a model: as something to be copied at some times, and at other times to be modified, but always it seems, to be consulted. ... Roots takes from The African phrases, situations, ideas, aspects of style and plot. Roots finds in The African essential elements for its depiction of such things as a slave's thoughts of escape, the psychology of an old slave, the habits of mind of the hero, and the whole sense of life on an infamous slave ship. Such things are the life of a novel; and when they appear in Roots, they are the life of someone else's novel."
After a five-week trial in federal district court, Courlander and Haley settled the case with a financial settlement and a statement that "Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials from The African by Harold Courlander found their way into his book, Roots."
During the trial, presiding U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Ward
Robert Joseph Ward
Robert Joseph Ward was a federal judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Ward received a B.S. from Harvard College in 1945 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1949...
stated, "Copying there is, period." In a later interview with BBC Television, Judge Ward stated, "Alex Haley perpetrated a hoax on the public."
During the trial, Alex Haley had maintained that he had not read The African before writing Roots. Shortly after the trial, however, a minority studies teacher at Skidmore College
Skidmore College
Skidmore College is a private, independent, liberal arts college with an enrollment of approximately 2,500 students. The college is located in the town of Saratoga Springs, New York State....
, Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchac
Joseph Bruchac is a writer of books relating to the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He has published works of poetry, novels, and short stories. He is from Saratoga Springs, New York, and is of...
, came forward and swore in an affidavit
Affidavit
An affidavit is a written sworn statement of fact voluntarily made by an affiant or deponent under an oath or affirmation administered by a person authorized to do so by law. Such statement is witnessed as to the authenticity of the affiant's signature by a taker of oaths, such as a notary public...
that he had discussed The African with Haley in 1970 or 1971 and had given his own personal copy of The African to Haley, events that took place a good number of years prior to the publication of Roots.
Family life
Courlander married Ella Schneideman in 1939. They had one child, Erika Courlander. They later divorced.Courlander married Emma Meltzer June 18, 1949. They had two children, Michael Courlander and Susan Jean Courlander.
Novels
- The African (1967)
- The Master of the Forge
- The Bordeaux Narrative
- The Journey of the Grey Fox People (previously released as Mesa of Flowers)
- The Big Old World of Richard Creeks
- The Son of the Leopard
- The Caballero
Nonfiction
- A Treasury of African Folklore
- A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore
- Tales of Yoruba Gods and Heroes
- The Heart of the Ngoni: Heroes of the African Kingdom of Segu (with Ousmane Sako)
- The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People
- Negro Folk Music, U.S.A.
- Haiti Singing
- Big Falling Snow (with Albert Yava)
- Hopi Voices: Recollections, Traditions and Narratives of the Hopi Indians
- Negro Songs from Alabama (music transcribed by John Benson Brooks)
- The Fourth World of the Hopis
- Shaping Our Times: What the United Nations Is and Does
- Vodoun in Haitian Culture (in Religion and Politics in Haiti)
- On Recognizing the Human Species
Folklore and folktales
- The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (with George Herzog)
- The Hat-Shaking Dance and Other Ashanti Tales from Ghana
- Olode the Hunter and Other Tales from Nigeria
- The King's Drum and Other African Stories
- The Crest and the Hide and Other African Stories of Heroes, Chiefs, Bards, Hunters, Sorcerers and Common People
- The Fire on the Mountain and Other Ethiopian Stories (with Wolf Leslau)
- People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians
- The Tiger's Whisker and Other Tales from Asia and the Pacific
- Terrapin's Pot of Sense
- The Piece of Fire and Other Haitian Tales
- Kantchil's Lime Pit and Other Stories from Indonesia
- Uncle Bouqui of Haiti
- Ride with the Sun
Poetry
- "Plowshare Once He Turned the Sod With" in Music Unheard: An Anthology of Hitherto Unpublished Verse, 1939.
Articles
- "Musical Instruments of HaitiHaitiHaiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
", The Musical Quarterly, July 1941. - "Profane Songs of the Haitian People", Journal of Negro History, July 1942.
- "The EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n Game of Gobeta", The Negro History Bulletin, October 1943. - "Gods of the Haitian Mountains", Journal of Negro History, July 1944.
- "Abakwa Meeting, Guanabacoa", Journal of Negro History, 1944.
- "Notes from an AbyssiniaEthiopian EmpireThe Ethiopian Empire also known as Abyssinia, covered a geographical area that the present-day northern half of Ethiopia and Eritrea covers, and included in its peripheries Zeila, Djibouti, Yemen and Western Saudi Arabia...
n Diary", The Musical Quarterly, July 1944 - "Dance and Dance-Drama, Haiti", The Function of Dance, Human Society, 1944.
- "Incident, the Valley of Gura", The Negro History Bulletin, 1947.
- "Gods of Haiti", Tomorrow, Autumn 1954.
- "The Loa of Haiti: New World African Deities," 1955.
- "Three Sonike Tales", African Arts, November 1978.
- "Roots, The African, and the Whiskey Jug Case", The Village Voice, April 9, 1979.
- "Recording in CubaCubaThe Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
in 1941", Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, July 1984. - "Recording in AlabamaAlabamaAlabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
in 1950", Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, October 1985. - "Reflections on the Meaning of a Haitian Cult Song", Bulletin Du Bureau National D'ethnolgie, 1986.
- "Kunta KinteKunta KinteKunta Kinte is the central character of the novel Roots: The Saga of an American Family by American author Alex Haley, and of the television miniseries Roots, based on the book. Haley described his book as faction - a mixture of fact and fiction...
's Struggle to be African", Phylon, December 1986. - "Recording in EritreaEritreaEritrea , officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea derives it's name from the Greek word Erethria, meaning 'red land'. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast...
in 1942-43", Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, April 1987. - "Some N.Y. Recording Episodes", Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, October 1988.
- "The Emperor Wore Clothes: Visiting Haile Selassie, 1943", The American ScholarThe American ScholarThe American Scholar was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society at Cambridge. He was invited to speak in recognition of his groundbreaking work Nature, published a year earlier, in which he established a new way for America's fledgling society to...
, March 1989. - "Recollections of Haiti, the 1930s and '40s", African Arts, April 1990.
- "Recording on the HopiHopiThe Hopi are a federally recognized tribe of indigenous Native American people, who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona. The Hopi area according to the 2000 census has a population of 6,946 people. Their Hopi language is one of the 30 of the Uto-Aztecan language...
Reservation, 1968-1981", Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music, April 1990. - "How I Got My Log Cabin", Chronicle: The Quarterly Magazine of the Historical Society of Michigan, 1991.
Recordings
Courlander produced numerous albums which were released on Folkways RecordsFolkways Records
Folkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
.
- Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 5: Spirituals (1950)
- Music of Indonesia (1950)
- Music of Haiti: Vol. 2, Drums of Haiti (1950)
- Folk Music of India (1950)
- Cult Music of Cuba (1951)
- Folk Music of Ethiopia (1951)
- Folk & Classical Music of Korea (1951)
- Folk Music of Rumania (1951)
- Folk Music of Palestine (1951)
- Folk Music of Pakistan (1951)
- Folk Tales from Indonesia (1951)
- Folk Tales from West Africa (1951)
- Music of Haiti: Vol. 1, Folk Music of Haiti (1951)
- Music of Southeast Asia (1951)
- Music of Spain (1951)
- Music of the Russian Middle East (1951)
- Music of the Ukraine (1951)
- Negro Folk Music of Africa and America (1951)
- Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 1: Secular Music (1951)
- Music of Haiti: Vol. 3, Songs and Dances of Haiti (1952)
- Haitian Piano (1952)
- Folk Music of the Western Congo (1952)
- Folk Music of Japan (1952)
- Folk Music of Yugoslavia (1952)
- Tribal Music of Australia (1953)
- Ring Games: Line Games and Play Party Songs of Alabama (1953)
- Spirituals with Dock Reed and Vera Hall Ward (1953)
- Calypso and Meringues (1953)
- Burmese Folk and Traditional Music (1953)
- Songs and Dances of Norway (1954)
- Folk Music of the Amani Islands, Japan (1954)
- African and Afro-American Drums (1954)
- Sonny Terry's Washboard Band (1955)
- Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 6: Ring Game Songs and Others (1955)
- Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 4: Rich Amerson—2 (1955)
- Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 2: Religious Music (1956)
- Radio Programme III: Courlander's Almanac: Familiar Music in Strange Places (1956)
- Spain: Flamenco Music of Andalusia (1956)
- Uncle Bouqui of Haiti: By Harold Courlander (1956)
- World of Man, Vol. 1: His World (1956)
- Africa South of the Sahara (1957)
- Music from South Asia (1957)
- World of Man, Vol. 2: Religions (1958)
- Folk Music U.S.A.: Vol. 1 (1958)
- The Topoke PeopleTopoke peopleThe Topoke people are an ethnic group that live in the Isangi Territory south of the Congo River, downstream from Kisangani in Tshopo District of the Democratic Republic of the Congo....
of the Congo (1959) - Modern Greek Heroic Oral Poetry (1959)
- Ashanti: Folk Tales from Ghana (1959)
- Tuareg Music of the Southern Sahara (1960)
- Negro Folk Music of Alabama, Vol. 3: Rich Amerson—1 (1960)
- Caribbean Folk Music, Vol. 1 (1960)
- Hopi Tales (1971)
Awards, grants, fellowships, and honors
Courlander received numerous awards, grants, and fellowships during his lifetime, including:- The Newbery Honor Book Award in 1948 for his book, The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (with George Herzog)
- Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
s and Grants in 1948, 1953, and 1958 - Wenner-GrenAxel Wenner-GrenAxel Lennart Wenner-Gren was a Swedish entrepreneur and one of the wealthiest men in the world during the 1930s....
Foundation Grants for Anthropological Research in 1956, 1960, 1962, and 1970 - Franz Boas Fund Grant, 1939
- Laura Ingalls Wilder MedalLaura Ingalls Wilder MedalThe Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal is a prize awarded by the American Library Association to writers or illustrators of children's books published in the United States who have over a period of years made substantial and lasting contributions to children's literature...
Nomination for Contributions to Children's Literature in 1979 - American Library AssociationAmerican Library AssociationThe American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
"Best Books for Young Adults" list in 1969 for his book, The African - Parents' Choice "Remarkable" Award in 1982 for his book, The Crest and The Hide
- The Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Michigan in 1984
- Avery Hopwood Award in Drama, 1931
- Avery Hopwood Award in Literary Criticism, 1931
- Avery Hopwood Award in Literary Criticism, 1932
- American Philosophical Society grants-in-aid for work regarding Haiti and Africa, 1946, 1953, 1957
- The Viking Fund grant-in-aid for study of African-American folk music in southern U.S., 1949
- American Council of Learned Societies research and publication grants, 1939, 1940, 1953
- Ford Foundation publication grant, 1958
- American Library Association's "Notable Children's Books" list for The Son of the Leopard,1975
- American Library Association's "Notable Children's Books" list for The Crest and the Hide, 1982
- Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies for The Crest and the Hide, 1982