The Journal of Folklore and Education, Vol. 6 (2019) is now available at online and is freely accessible to all our readers. Chief among the tools of folklorists and other ethnographers, interviewing allows us to glimpse the ways that others live, create, and believe. Careful, intentional listening rewards both the interviewer and the narrator. The connections forged, whether fleeting or long-lived, are unique to each interview. Artfulness weaves throughout the interview process, from questioning and following up to analyzing, editing, preserving, and re-presenting.
Folk arts interviews teach important details about cultural context, artistic expression as communication, and the ways stories can help us better understand our communities. The practice of interviewing integrates well with many K-16 curricular areas and education standards so that art and culture can be embedded in additional subject areas. This JFE special issue includes work that illustrates HOW to do an interview, WHY to use interviews as a part of one’s curriculum, and WHAT can be done with completed interviews.