Building the Archive: ‘The Storied Song’ Receives Berea College Fellowship

We're thrilled to announce that The Storied Song has been awarded a fellowship from Berea College to conduct archival research in their renowned library collection. This exciting opportunity transforms our podcast from an audio series into a comprehensive digital humanities project.

Over the coming months, I'll be working directly with Berea's archives to research the historical ballads featured in our podcast episodes—Tom Dula, The Wreck of the Old 97, The Farmer's Curst Wife, and Lord Bateman. This deep dive into original source materials, historical recordings, and scholarly documentation will allow us to build a rich, contextualizing website that brings new layers of understanding to these timeless songs.

The digital humanities component will serve as a companion to the podcast, offering listeners access to:

• Historical context and documentation for each ballad

• Archival materials and recordings

• Maps tracing the ballads' origins and evolution

• Scholarly resources for deeper exploration

• Visual materials that illuminate the stories behind the songs

This fellowship represents Berea College's commitment to preserving and promoting Appalachian cultural heritage, and we're honored to partner with an institution that shares our mission of making these ballad traditions accessible to contemporary audiences.

Stay tuned as we continue developing this project—we can't wait to share what we discover in the archives.