Sing It Pretty

Bess Lomax Hawes (1921–2009) was a folklorist, teacher, and musicologist, and the first director of the Folk and Traditional Arts Program at the National Endowment for the Arts.

Received an honorable mention from the International Alliance for Women in Music, 2009.“She learned the tools of folklore fieldwork by transcribing the songs of rural musicians and taught herself how to play these songs, eventually joining the Almanac Singers, which included Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, as part of a growing folk movement. . . . Libraries with comprehensive folk music collections will want to own her memoir.”--Library Journal "The Lomax family made an indelible mark on American musical history and vernacular culture, combining performance, scholarship, collecting, administration, and so much more, part of which is well-captured in Bess's wonderful memoir."--Labour/Le Travail "This book is loaded with enjoyable anecdotes from throughout Ms. Hawes' 89 years. . . . Along the way, we meet many seminal folk music figures and, though these are characters we've all met before, thanks to Bess' storytelling skills, we often see them in a new light."--Sing Out"This valuable book will establish Bess Lomax Hawes's reputation more widely as a folklorist, musical teacher and musicologist, while also making a worthwhile contribution to the music history of mid-20th-century North America."--European Journal of Communication"A great American story that deserves to be read by millions over decades to come. An immediate classic that is a delight to read."--Daniel Sheehy, director of Smithsonian Folkway Recordings and former director of Folk and Traditional Arts at the National Endowment for the Arts "An important and totally delightful autobiography--a model of the genre. Written by a master in her field, this engaging and charming book is a very significant contribution to folkloristics."--Sylvia Ann Grider, author of Let's Hear It: Stories by Texas Women Writers "An insightful tale into the life, thought, and persona of a significant actor in the American culture scene. Hawes's brilliant personality shines through her writing."--John H. McDowell, author of Poetry and Violence: The Ballad Tradition of Mexico's Costa Chica