The Erotic Muse by Ed Cray
Reveals the courage, hope, and grit of the American erotic experience as chronicled in the headlines of the nation's public press from the earliest issue of The Boston News-Letter to the major newspapers of today. This book provides a view of the events that have most influenced politics and culture.
"The revision and expansion of Cray's groundbreaking 1968 collection reaffirms the continuity of a Rabelaisian spirit of American culture virtuously damned by allPreachers, professors--polite people of all persuasions--are discomfited by these shamelessly libidinous paeans to the glories of obscenity. . . . Cray's thoughtful, well-reasoned, and useful introduction makes clear that society's inability to deal with these rude lyrics has resulted in considerable losses to historical scholarship. . . . The book's importance for popular culture studies lies in its exploration of middle-class culture's continued complex relation to taboo: its pleasure in privately violating rules within intimate subgroups while enforcing strict decorum in the public sphere."--Jerome Stern, Studies in Popular Culture
"The Erotic Muse is now expanded and thoroughly updated, with a valuable introduction, by Cray. . . . The bibliography is a rich guide to the important literature in the field."--R. D. Cohen, Choice
"Ed Cray's notes are remarkably full. He has researched the songs thoroughly, outlining their history and giving several versions of many. . . . Anyone interested in erotic material--and who isn't--will want this book."--Edith Fowke, Come-All-Ye
"These are the folksongs that usually don't get into the standard collections; or, if they do, usually in extremely censured form. . . . These songs represent the sizable amount of fascination that the scatological and sexual sides of life have always generated for humanity."--Brendan Foreman, Folktales
"Cray's wonderful study cloaks this fascinating subject with academic respectability without diminishing the charm of the delectable body within."--Norm Cohen, the author of Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong
"The Erotic Muse is now expanded and thoroughly updated, with a valuable introduction, by Cray. . . . The bibliography is a rich guide to the important literature in the field."--R. D. Cohen, Choice
"Ed Cray's notes are remarkably full. He has researched the songs thoroughly, outlining their history and giving several versions of many. . . . Anyone interested in erotic material--and who isn't--will want this book."--Edith Fowke, Come-All-Ye
"These are the folksongs that usually don't get into the standard collections; or, if they do, usually in extremely censured form. . . . These songs represent the sizable amount of fascination that the scatological and sexual sides of life have always generated for humanity."--Brendan Foreman, Folktales
"Cray's wonderful study cloaks this fascinating subject with academic respectability without diminishing the charm of the delectable body within."--Norm Cohen, the author of Long Steel Rail: The Railroad in American Folksong
Ed Cray is a professor of journalism emeritus at the University of Southern California. His books include Chief Justice: A Biography of Earl Warren and Ramblin' Man: The Life and Times of Woody Guthrie.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9780252067891 |
| ISBN 10 | 0252067894 |
| Title | The Erotic Muse |
| Author | Ed Cray |
| Series | Music In American Life |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Paperback |
| Publisher | University of Illinois Press |
| Year published | 1999-02-01 |
| Number of pages | 480 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |