THE TENNESSEE FOLKLORE SOCIETY MAKES ITSELF AT HOME IN MCNAIRY COUNTY SHAWN PITTS
Founded in 1934, The Tennessee Folklore Society (TFS) endures as one of the country’s oldest agencies devoted to regional folklore. In almost a century of continuous publication the organization’s journal, the TFS Bulletin, features the writing of renowned folklorists and community scholars documenting an incredible variety of folk traditions unique to Tennessee and surrounding states. The organization’s annual meeting is the only regular gathering of scholars, folklore enthusiasts, folk artists, tradition bearers, and folklife presenters in the region. And now, The Tennessee Folklore Society calls McNairy County home. The Society was hosted by Jubilee Community Arts (JCA) in Knoxville for almost twenty years, before longtime JCA Director and TFS Secretary/Editor, Dr. Brent Cantrell, announced his retirement in 2022. As Cantrell stepped away from leadership the organization entered a restructuring phase, prompting the move to Selmer. An agreement to make Arts in McNairy (AiM) the TFS host institution went into effect January 2024. It’s the first time in its lauded history that TFS has called West Tennessee home.
