Clambake: A History and Celebration of an American Tradition (Publications of the American Folklore Society New Series) |
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Clambake: A History and Celebration of an American Tradition (Publications of the American Folklore Society New Series)
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by Kathy Neustadt
Sales Rank: 4117652
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$8.48
At Amazon
on 6-18-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Hard Cover with 227 pages
Published by: University of Massachusetts Press August 1992
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0870237829
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0870237829
Book Dimensions:
9.5 x 7 x 0.8 inches
Weighs: 1.6 pounds
From Publishers Weekly
Combining history, ethnography, reportage and essay, an independent folklore scholar offers a wealth of perspectives on the not-so-humble clambake. Prompted by a visit to the Allen's Neck Clambake, a southeastern Massachusetts institution for more than 100 years, Neustadt traces the clambake's roots to both Native American practice and invented Yankee tradition. Her earnest, effusive description of the Allen's Neck feast covers the town's heritage (Quaker, Portuguese, summer visitors) and details the anatomy and aesthetic of the clambake--from ticket sales to constructing a fire to picking clams. Neustadt is no Calvin Trillin, but for two-thirds of the book she eschews academic jargon in favor of clear prose. In a final, more academic section, she argues that none of the common analytical categories--clambake as food, festival or ritual feast--sufficiently explains the event. With its old-fashioned foods and community spirit, the clambake, she writes, affirms identity in a time when society is fragmenting. Illustrations.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
The annual clambake, celebrated for over 100 years by the community of Allen's Neck in southeastern Massachusetts, is the focus of this ethnographic study. Neustadt, who has a doctorate in folklore and folk life, looks at the history of the New England clambake from its Native American origin to its reinvention as a postindustrial pastime. She carefully records every aspect of properly preparing the seaside feast at Allen's Neck. She also explores the clambake's symbolic significance, revealing its importance as an expression of community identity. Recommended for academic and regional history collections.
- Eloise R. Hitchcock, Tennessee Technological Univ. Lib., Cookeville
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Clambake: A History and Celebration of an American Tradition (Publications of the American Folklore Society) (Paperback)
Neustadt's book is enjoyable reading. She writes with clarity and wit, and I especially enjoyed the way that she integrates the study of social history with an analysis of a contemporary foodways tradition. It is especially rewarding to follow her interest in seeing how a seemingly simple event can be studied to discover significant meanings. Her analysis can be applied to other types of community events that center around food preparation and consumption, and she provides useful ideas for discovering ways to document similar folklife events. Although the intrusion of arcane academic arguments might put off the typical reader, the use of jargon is generally accessible, and the hip reader will enjoy Neustadt's clever subversion of the overemphasis on theorizing. The hip reader will then wish to go out and eat some steamed clams. (Pass the butter.)
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Clambake: A History and Celebration of an American Tradition (Publications of the American Folklore Society New Series)
Available from Amazon
Price: $8.48
Updated on 6-18-2008.
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