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

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 wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

, folklorist, and

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

and an expert in the study of

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

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

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

, Afro-American, 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 in contrast to that which is written, though much oral literature has been transcribed. There is no standard definition, as anthropologists have used v ...

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

Life and work

Courlander was born in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Indiana, the son of the painter David Courlander of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

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

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

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 in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

. 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. 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 the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, and

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

. 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, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

, recording

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

in the 1940s and 1950s. From 1947 to 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 Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

, Haiti, and

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

). In 1950, he also did field recordings in

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

later transcribed by John Benson Brooks. In the 1960s, Courlander began a series of field trips to the American Southwest to study the oral literature and culture of the Hopi Indians. 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 to 1943, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Harold Courlander served as a historian for the Air Transport Command for the Douglas Aircraft Project 19 in Gura,

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

. 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 other ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, 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 by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, from 1943 to 1946. 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 an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

in New York City. He was an information specialist and speech writer for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations from 1956 to 1957. He was a writer and editor for ''The United Nations Review'' from 1957 to 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 is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

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, charging that Alex Haley, 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 focusin ...

'', 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 African'' 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 colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...

, 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, an instructor in black and African history at

Skidmore College Skidmore College is a Private school, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Saratoga Springs, New York. Approximately 2,700 students are enrolled at Skidmore pursuing a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Scien ...

, 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 Abyssinian Diary", ''The Musical Quarterly'', July 1944 * "Dance and Dance-Drama, Haiti", ''The Function of Dance, Human Society'', 1944. * "Incident, the Valley of Gura", ''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'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 (born Tafari Makonnen or ''Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles#Lij, Lij'' Tafari; 23 July 189227 August 1975) was Emperor of Ethiopia from 1930 to 1974. He rose to power as the Ethiopian aristocratic and court titles, Rege ...

, 1943", '' The American Scholar'', March 1989. * "Recollections of Haiti, the 1930s and '40s", ''African Arts'', April 1990. * "Recording on the

Hopi The Hopi are Native Americans who primarily live in northeastern Arizona. The majority are enrolled in the Hopi Tribe of Arizona and live on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; however, some Hopi people are enrolled in the Colorado ...

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

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

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. History 19th century ...

"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