Harold Courlander (September 18, 1908 – March 15, 1996) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

folklorist Folklore studies, less often known as folkloristics, and occasionally tradition studies or folk life studies in the United Kingdom, is the branch of anthropology devoted to the study of folklore. This term, along with its synonyms, gained currenc ...

, and

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms an ...

and an expert in the study of

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and s ...

an life. The author of 35 books and plays and numerous scholarly articles, Courlander specialized in the study of African,

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean ...

Afro-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of enslav ...

, and Native American cultures. He took a special interest in

oral literature Oral literature, orature or folk literature is a genre of literature that is spoken or sung as opposed to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used var ...

, cults, and Afro-American cultural connections with Africa.

Life and work

Courlander was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, Indiana, the son of the painter

David Courlander David Courlander (September 10, 1866 – June 12, 1961) was a self-taught ("primitive") artist who painted scenes of everyday American life. He began painting when he was 85 years old (he lived to age 94). Many of his paintings now reside in the ...

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

. Courlander received a B.A. in English from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1931. At the University of Michigan, he received three Avery Hopwood Awards (one in drama and two in literary criticism). He attended graduate school at the University of Michigan and

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

. He spent time in the 1930s on a farm in Romeo, Michigan. There, he built a one-room log cabin in the woods where he spent much of his time writing. With the prize money from the Hopwood Awards, Courlander took his first field trip to

, inspired by the writings of

William Buehler Seabrook William Buehler Seabrook (February 22, 1884 – September 20, 1945) was an American occultist, explorer, traveler, journalist and writer, born in Westminster, Maryland. He began his career as a reporter and City Editor of the ''Augusta Chro ...

. In 1939, he published his first book about Haitian life entitled ''Haiti Singing''. Over the next 30 years, he traveled to Haiti more than 20 times. His research focused on religious practices, African retentions, oral traditions,

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, rangin ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

, and

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. His book, '' The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People'', published in 1960, became a classic text for the study of Haitian culture. Courlander also took numerous field trips to the

southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, or simply the South) is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean ...

, recording

folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has ...

in the 1940s and 1950s. From 1947–1960, he served as a general editor of Ethnic Folkways Library (he actually devised the label name) and recorded more than 30 albums of music from different cultures (''e.g.'', the cultures of

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Gui ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali ...

, Haiti, and

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribb ...

). In 1950, he also did field recordings in

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

later transcribed by

John Benson Brooks John Benson Brooks (February 23, 1917, Houlton, Maine – November 13, 1999, New York City) was an American jazz pianist, songwriter, arranger, and composer. Brooks worked early in his career as an arranger for Randy Brooks, Les Brown, Boyd R ...

. In the 1960s, Courlander began a series of field trips to the

American Southwest The Southwestern United States, also known as the American Southwest or simply the Southwest, is a geographic and cultural region of the United States that generally includes Arizona, New Mexico, and adjacent portions of California, Colorado ...

to study the oral literature and culture of the

Hopi Indians The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the Unit ...

. His collection of folk tales, '' People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians'', was issued in 1970 and was quickly recognized as an indispensable work in the study of oral literature. From 1942-43, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Harold Courlander served as a historian for the

Air Transport Command Air Transport Command (ATC) was a United States Air Force unit that was created during World War II as the strategic airlift component of the United States Army Air Forces. It had two main missions, the first being the delivery of supplies ...

for the

Douglas Aircraft The Douglas Aircraft Company was an American aerospace manufacturer based in Southern California. It was founded in 1921 by Donald Wills Douglas Sr. and later merged with McDonnell Aircraft in 1967 to form McDonnell Douglas; it then operated as ...

Project 19 in Gura,

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopi ...

. Courlander then worked as a writer and editor for the

Office of War Information The United States Office of War Information (OWI) was a United States government agency created during World War II. The OWI operated from June 1942 until September 1945. Through radio broadcasts, newspapers, posters, photographs, films and othe ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

and

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

, from 1943-46. From 1946 until 1956, he worked as a news writer and news analyst for the

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is the State media, state-owned news network and International broadcasting, international radio broadcaster of the United States, United States of America. It is the largest and oldest U.S.-funded international br ...

in New York City. He was an information specialist and speech writer for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 1956–1957. He was a writer and editor for ''The United Nations Review'' from 1957–1960. From 1960 until 1974, Courlander was African specialist, Caribbean specialist, feature writer, and senior news analyst for the Voice of America in Washington, D.C.

''Roots'' and plagiarism

Courlander wrote seven novels, his most famous being '' The African'', published in 1967. The novel was the story of a slave's capture in Africa, his experiences aboard a

slave Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

ship, and his struggle to retain his native culture in a hostile new world. In 1978, Courlander filed suit in the

U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New Y ...

, charging that

Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and ...

, the author of ''

Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...

'', had copied 81 passages from his novel. Courlander's pre-trial memorandum in the copyright infringement lawsuit claimed: The lawsuit did not allege that ''The Africans plot was copied in its entirety, as the two novels differ in many plot points. Courlander's novel depicts a successful revolt on the slave ship, a shipwreck in the French colony of

Saint-Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the island, Santo Domingo, which came to ref ...

, a fugitive life as escaped slaves, recapture by French troops, and then transport to New Orleans in 1802. Haley's novel begins before the American Revolution, depicts disease striking down the slaves before they could revolt, and shows the ship arriving successfully in the British colony of Maryland. The copying in ''Roots'' was in the form of specific ideas and passages. For example, strikingly similar language is used to describe an infestation of lice on the slave ship: In his Expert Witness Report submitted to federal court, Professor of English Michael Wood of

stated: During a five-week trial in federal district court, presiding U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Ward stated, "Copying there is, period." Passages from ''The African'' were found stapled to a manuscript page from ''Roots''. However, Alex Haley maintained throughout the trial that he had not even heard of ''The African'' until the year after ''Roots'' was published, and speculated that someone else had given him the photocopied passages. After the trial,

Joseph Bruchac Joseph Bruchac (born October 16, 1942) is an American writer and storyteller based in New York. He writes about Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He ...

, an instructor in black and African history at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a private liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,650 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science degree in one of more than 60 areas of study. Histo ...

, stated that he had recommended Courlander's novel to Haley when he visited Skidmore in 1970. Bruchac remembered driving home three miles to fetch his own copy of ''The African'' and give it to Haley, who promised to read it "on the plane." Courlander and Haley settled the case out of court for $650,000 and a statement that "Alex Haley acknowledges and regrets that various materials from ''The African'' by Harold Courlander found their way into his book, ''Roots''."

Family life

Courlander married Ella Schneideman in 1939. They had one child, Erika Courlander. They later divorced. Courlander married Emma Meltzer June 18, 1949. They had two children, Michael Courlander and Susan Jean Courlander.

Selected bibliography and discography

Novels

* ''The Caballero'', 1940. * ''The Big Old World of Richard Creeks'', 1962, 1990. * '' The African'', 1967, 1977, 1993. * ''The Mesa of Flowers'', 1977, 2006. * ''The Master of the Forge'', 1983, 1996. * ''The Son of the Leopard'', 1974, 2002. * ''The Bordeaux Narrative'', 1988, 1990. * ''Journey of the Grey Fox People'' (reissue of ''The Mesa of Flowers''), 1977, 2006.

Nonfiction

* ''A Treasury of African Folklore'', 1975, 1995. * ''A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore'', 1976, 1995. * ''Tales of Yoruba Gods and Heroes'', 1973, 1974, 2001. * ''The Heart of the Ngoni: Heroes of the African Kingdom of Segu'' (with Ousmane Sako), 1982. * ''The Drum and the Hoe: Life and Lore of the Haitian People'', 1960, 1985, 1988. * ''Negro Folk Music, U.S.A.'', 1963, 1992. * ''Haiti Singing'', 1939, 1973. * ''Big Falling Snow'' (with Albert Yava), 1978, 1982. * ''Hopi Voices: Recollections, Traditions and Narratives of the Hopi Indians'', 1982. * ''Negro Songs from Alabama'' (music transcribed by John Benson Brooks), 1960, 1963, 1988. * ''The Fourth World of the Hopis'', 1971, 1987, 1999. * ''Shaping Our Times: What the United Nations Is and Does'', 1960. * ''Vodoun in Haitian Culture'' (in ''Religion and Politics in Haiti''), 1966. * ''On Recognizing the Human Species', '1960.

Folklore and folktales

* ''The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories'' (with George Herzog), 1947, 1987. * ''The Hat-Shaking Dance and Other Ashanti Tales from Ghana'', 1957, 1985. * ''Olode the Hunter and Other Tales from Nigeria'', 1968, 1996. * ''The King's Drum and Other African Stories'', 1962, 1990. * ''The Crest and the Hide and Other African Stories of Heroes, Chiefs, Bards, Hunters, Sorcerers and Common People'', 1982. * ''The Fire on the Mountain and Other Ethiopian Stories'' (with Wolf Leslau), 1950, 1995. * ''People of the Short Blue Corn: Tales and Legends of the Hopi Indians'', 1970, 1995, 1998. * ''The Tiger's Whisker and Other Tales from Asia and the Pacific'', 1959, 1995. * ''Terrapin's Pot of Sense'', 1957, 1985. * ''The Piece of Fire and Other Haitian Tales'', 1964, 1992. * ''Kantchil's Lime Pit and Other Stories from Indonesia'', 1950. * ''Uncle Bouqui of Haiti'', 1942. * ''Ride with the Sun'', 1955, 1983.

Plays

* ''Swamp Mud'', 1936. * ''Home to Langford County'', 1938.

Articles

* "Musical Instruments of

", ''The Musical Quarterly'', July 1941. * "Profane Songs of the Haitian People", ''Journal of Negro History'', July 1942. * "The

n Game of Gobeta", ''The Negro History Bulletin'', October 1943. * "Gods of the Haitian Mountains", ''Journal of Negro History'', July 1944. * "Abakwa Meeting, Guanabacoa", ''Journal of Negro History'', 1944. * "Notes from an

Abyssinia The Ethiopian Empire (), also formerly known by the exonym Abyssinia, or just simply known as Ethiopia (; Amharic and Tigrinya: ኢትዮጵያ , , Oromo: Itoophiyaa, Somali: Itoobiya, Afar: ''Itiyoophiyaa''), was an empire that historica ...

n Diary", ''The Musical Quarterly'', July 1944 * "Dance and Dance-Drama, Haiti", ''The Function of Dance, Human Society'', 1944. * "Incident, the

Valley of Gura A valley is an elongated low area often running between hills or mountains, which will typically contain a river or stream running from one end to the other. Most valleys are formed by erosion of the land surface by rivers or streams ...

", ''The Negro History Bulletin'', 1947. * "Gods of Haiti", ''Tomorrow'', Autumn 1954. * "The Loa of Haiti: New World African Deities," 1955. * "Three Sonike Tales", ''African Arts'', November 1978. * "''Roots'', ''The African'', and the Whiskey Jug Case", ''The Village Voice'', April 9, 1979. * "Recording in

in 1941", ''Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music'', July 1984. * "Recording in

in 1950", ''Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music'', October 1985. * "Reflections on the Meaning of a Haitian Cult Song", ''Bulletin Du Bureau National D'ethnolgie'', 1986. * "

Kunta Kinte Kunta Kinte ( – ; ) is a character in the 1976 novel '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family'' by American author Alex Haley. Kunta Kinte was based on one of Haley's ancestors, a Gambian man who was born around 1750, enslaved, and taken to ...

's Struggle to be African", ''Phylon'', December 1986. * "Recording in

in 1942-43", ''Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music'', April 1987. * "Some N.Y. Recording Episodes", ''Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music'', October 1988. * "The Emperor Wore Clothes: Visiting

Haile Selassie Haile Selassie I ( gez, ቀዳማዊ ኀይለ ሥላሴ, Qädamawi Häylä Səllasé, ; born Tafari Makonnen; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as Regent Plenipotentiary of Ethiopia (' ...

, 1943", ''

The American Scholar "The American Scholar" was a speech given by Ralph Waldo Emerson on August 31, 1837, to the Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard College at the First Parish in Cambridge in Cambridge, Massachusetts. He was invited to speak in recognition of his gro ...

'', March 1989. * "Recollections of Haiti, the 1930s and '40s", ''African Arts'', April 1990. * "Recording on the

Hopi The Hopi are a Native American ethnic group who primarily live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona, United States. As of the 2010 census, there are 19,338 Hopi in the country. The Hopi Tribe is a sovereign nation within the United ...

Reservation, 1968-1981", ''Resound: A Quarterly of the Archives of Traditional Music'', April 1990. * "How I Got My Log Cabin", ''Chronicle: The Quarterly Magazine of the Historical Society of Michigan'', 1991.

Awards, grants, fellowships, and honors

Courlander received numerous awards, grants, and fellowships during his lifetime, including: *The

Newbery Honor Newbery is a surname. People * Chantelle Newbery (born 1977), Australian Olympic diver * David Newbery (born 1943), British economist *Eduardo Newbery (1878–1908), Argentine odontologist and aerostat pilot * Francis Newbery (disambiguation), s ...

Book Award in 1948 for his book ''The Cow-Tail Switch and Other West African Stories'' (with George Herzog) *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

s and Grants in 1948, 1953, and 1958 * Wenner-Gren Foundation Grants for Anthropological Research in 1956, 1960, 1962, and 1970 * Franz Boas Fund Grant, 1939 * Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal Nomination for Contributions to Children's Literature in 1979 *

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

"Best Books for Young Adults" list in 1969 for his book ''The African'' * Parents' Choice "Remarkable" Award in 1982 for his book ''The Crest and The Hide'' * The Outstanding Achievement Award from the University of Michigan in 1984 * Avery Hopwood Award in Drama, 1931 * Avery Hopwood Award in Literary Criticism, 1931 * Avery Hopwood Award in Literary Criticism, 1932 * American Philosophical Society grants-in-aid for work regarding Haiti and Africa, 1946, 1953, 1957 * The Viking Fund grant-in-aid for study of African-American folk music in southern U.S., 1949 * American Council of Learned Societies research and publication grants, 1939, 1940, 1953 * Ford Foundation publication grant, 1958 * American Library Association's "Notable Children's Books" list for ''The Son of the Leopard'', 1975 * American Library Association's "Notable Children's Books" list for ''The Crest and the Hide'', 1982 * Notable Children's Trade Books in the Field of Social Studies for ''The Crest and the Hide'', 1982

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Courlander, Harold 1908 births 1996 deaths American folklorists Newbery Honor winners University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Writers from Indiana American emigrants to Haiti 20th-century American writers 20th-century American male writers People of the United States Office of War Information 20th-century American anthropologists