Newbery Medal (John Newbery Medal)
1 appearances
-
Edition 27 (1948) Honor
Harold Courlander
ハロルド・コーランダー
Harold Courlander
Profile
- Gender
- Male
- Born
- 1908-09-18 （Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.）
- Died
- 1996-03-15 （United States） age 87
- Nationality
- American
- Languages
- English
- Residence History
- Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. → Romeo, Michigan (farm, log cabin) → Haiti (frequent fieldwork trips) → New York City (Office of War Information, Voice of America, etc.) → Washington, D.C. (Voice of America) → Gura, Eritrea → Bombay (now Mumbai), India
Career
- Occupations
- Novelist, Folklorist, Anthropologist, Editor, Field recorder
- Active Years
- 1931-1996
- Affiliations
- Voice of America, Office of War Information, U.S. Mission to the United Nations, Ethnic Folkways Library (general editor)
- Influenced By
- William Buehler Seabrook (inspired Courlander's interest in Haiti)
Education
| Institution | Faculty | Department | Degree | Period | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of Michigan | — | English | B.A. | 1928–1931 | United States |
| Columbia University (graduate studies) | — | — | — | — | United States |
University of Michigan
English
Degree:
B.A.
Period:
1928–1931
Year of Graduation:
1931
Country:
United States
Received Avery Hopwood Awards (one in drama, two in literary criticism)
Columbia University (graduate studies)
Country:
United States
Attended graduate school (details not specified)
Awards
| Year | Award | Work | Category | Organization | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | Newbery Honor | The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (with George Herzog) | — | American Library Association | 受賞 |
| 1948 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1953 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1958 | Guggenheim Fellowship | — | — | John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation | 受賞 |
| 1939 | Franz Boas Fund Grant | — | — | Franz Boas Fund | 受賞 |
| 1984 | Outstanding Achievement Award (University of Michigan) | — | — | University of Michigan | 受賞 |
| 1931 | Avery Hopwood Award | — | 劇作 / 文芸批評 | University of Michigan (Hopwood Awards) | 受賞 |
Newbery Honor
1948
Work:
The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (with George Herzog)
Organization:
American Library Association
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1948
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1953
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Guggenheim Fellowship
1958
Organization:
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation
Result:
受賞
Franz Boas Fund Grant
1939
Organization:
Franz Boas Fund
Result:
受賞
Outstanding Achievement Award (University of Michigan)
1984
Organization:
University of Michigan
Result:
受賞
Avery Hopwood Award
1931
Category:
劇作 / 文芸批評
Organization:
University of Michigan (Hopwood Awards)
Result:
受賞
Awards & Nominations
Works
Major Works
Haiti Singing
1939 Non-fiction / FolkloreAn early field study documenting Haitian folklore, music, dance, and oral traditions; influential in subsequent Haitian studies.
Haitian cultureoral traditionmusic and ritual
The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People
1960 Ethnography / FolkloreA study of Haitian religious practices and African retentions in daily life; regarded as a classic in Haitian cultural studies.
religious practicesAfrican retentionsritual and society
The African
1967 Novel / Historical novelThe story of a slave captured in Africa, his experiences aboard a slave ship, and his struggle to retain native culture in a hostile new world. Later became central to a plagiarism lawsuit concerning Alex Haley's Roots.
slaverycultural retentionescape and resistance
The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories
1947 FolktalesA collection of West African folktales edited and compiled for younger readers; received a Newbery Honor.
African folktalesheroic talesdidactic stories
Bibliography
- Haiti Singing (1939)
- The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories (1947)
- The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People (1960)
- The African (1967)
- A Treasury of African Folklore (1975)
- People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians (1970)
Style & Themes
- Literary Style
- ethnographic-informed narrationdetailed fieldwork-based descriptionblend of scholarly analysis and storytelling
- Recurring Motifs
- oral tradition and narrative reconstructiondepictions of music and ritualAfrican cultural retentions
Legacy
Harold Courlander is known for his extensive folklore and ethnographic work on Haiti, Africa and the Caribbean. Through field recordings and editorial work he contributed to preserving oral traditions. The lawsuit connected to The African and Roots sparked broader debates about copyright and source use.
Academic Societies
- (Specific academic society memberships not fully documented)
Archives
- Library of Congress holdings and catalog records
- Various national library catalogs and authority files (e.g. VIAF)
In Popular Culture
- Became widely referenced in popular discussion due to the Roots plagiarism lawsuit.
Quotes
-
Defendant Haley had access to and substantially copied from The African.
Source: Plaintiff's pre-trial memorandum (Harold Courlander, 1978) (1978)
Trivia
- In 1978 Courlander sued Alex Haley over similarities between Roots and The African; the case was settled for $650,000.
- He produced and recorded over 30 field-recording albums of traditional music.
- He won multiple Avery Hopwood Awards while at the University of Michigan.