Erotic Muse

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.

"The revision and expansion of Cray's groundbreaking 1968 collection reaffirms the continuity of a Rabelaisian spirit of American culture virtuously damned by all. Preachers, 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