Sound Salon: Richard March

Sound Salon: Richard March

Free and Open to the Public

Monday, October 23, 2017
7:00pm – 9:00pm
Memorial Library, Room 126, 728 State St.

Richard March grew up a “red diaper baby” in a family committed to union organizing and civil rights. He went on to earn his Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University and had a thirty-year career in public folklore as a musician, radio producer, and Wisconsin’s state folklorist. His recent book, A Great Vision: A Militant Family’s Journey Through the 20th Century, traces his family history through three generations as they organized for union protections, civil rights, and anti-war movements. More than simply a memoir, A Great Vision shows us how folklore practices can help forge new models of social activism to address 21st-century progressive causes. Following his talk, March will perform some old labor songs learned from his father.

March is the author of The Tamburitza Tradition: From the Balkans to the American Midwest, and Polka Heartland: Why the Midwest Loves to Polka. He co-hosted the radio show Down Home Dairyland with Jim Leary, and he and Leary wrote Down Home Dairyland: A Listener’s Guide. March is a longtime friend of Mills Music Library, and has donated many items from his private collection of recordings and books over the years. We are pleased to co-sponsor this event with the Mayrent Institute for Yiddish Culture.