Polka Heartland: Why the Midwest Loves to Polka

Erscheinungsjahr 2015
ISBN: 978-0-87020-722-8
Verlag: WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOC PR

Buch, Englisch, 208 Seiten, Hardback, Format (B × H): 209 mm x 236 mm, Gewicht: 812 g

Polka Heartland"" captures the beat that pulses in the heart of Midwestern culture--the polka--and offers up the fascinating history of how ""oompah-pah"" came to be the sound of middle America. From the crowded dance tent at Pulaski Polka Days to an off-the-grid Mexican polka dance in small-town Wisconsin, ""Polka Heartland"" explores the people, places, and history behind the Midwest's favorite music.

From polka's surprising origin story as a cutting-edge European fad to an exploration of the modern-day polka scene, author Rick March and photographer Dick Blau take readers on a joyful romp through this beloved, unique, and richly storied genre. ""Polka Heartland"" describes the artists, venues, instruments, and music-makers who have been pivotal to polka's popularity across the Midwest and offers six full-color photo galleries to immerse readers in today's vibrant polka scene.

Autoren/Hrsg.

March, Rick

Blau, Dick

Über Autor(innen)

Author and folklorist Rick March has participated in the Midwest polka scene for more than three decades. He is a preeminent scholar of Midwest music history and culture, a longtime radio host on Wisconsin Public Radio, a producer of polka CDs for Smithsonian Folkways, and a polka musician in his own right. March is retired from the Wisconsin Arts Board.

Dick Blau has a BA from Harvard and a PhD from Yale. A self-taught photographer, filmmaker, and performer, he co-founded the highly regarded Department of Film at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Blau calls his work an ethnography of the feelings. His subjects range from highly personal dramas to huge communal events. Blau has co-authored three books on the culture of celebration: Polka Happiness, Skyros Carnival, and Bright Balkan Morning. Blau lives with writer Jane Gallop in downtown Milwaukee, USA.