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Culture & Religion —

The Rich Culture of the Poor

As assistant in charge of the Archive of American Folk Song in the Library of Congress, Alan Lomax proved that the poorest places held some of the richest cultural treasures.
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As Washington geared up for war in late summer of 1940, Alan Lomax fired off a round of heated memos to his boss in the music division at the Library of Congress. As assistant in charge of the Archive of American Folk Song, the 25-year-old Lomax had ambitious plans for serving the cause, such as publishing songbooks for draftees at military camps and arranging antifascist war ballads for marching bands and pop singers, even recording conscripts with musical talent.

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