Louise Pound Publications

The Works of Louise Pound

Louise Pound published an impressive amount of scholarly work during her time at the University of Nebraska. When her contemporaries were concentrating on English and Greek literature, Pound was focused on American authors and Nebraska folk-ways. Louise Pound published many articles and books. She wrote about poetry, American ballads, and folklore.

Ballads

Louise Pound published “Traditional Ballads in Nebraska” in 1913 for the Journal of American Folk-Lore, a collection of traditional ballads recovered in her home state. In 1922 Louise Pound published American Ballads and Songs. The book includes songs with exaggerated plots including jealous lovers and gamblers. The most characteristically American folk songs are slave and plantation songs, temperance songs, and campaign songs of the Civil War Period (Omaha). Pound grouped the songs in categories such as “English and Scottish Ballads in America,” “Native Ballads and Songs,” “Ballads of Criminals and Outlaws,” and “Dialogue, Nursery and Game Songs.” The songs may have no factual historical value, but do have sociological value because they convey an impression of society at the time they were written. These record traditions passed down through generations. On the surface they express social views held at the time while also expressing feelings of human nature from all periods (Omaha). In “A Syllabus of Nebraska Folk-Songs,” Pound writes about songs that have traveled from the Atlantic Coast to the Nebraska prairies; songs of the Pawnee tribe, Canadian voyagers, and European peoples about cowboys, tragedies, those lost at sea, homesickness and railroads. In “Traditional Ballads in Nebraska,” Pound lists traditional ballads that were recovered in Nebraska. One of her articles, “‘Sir Andrew Barton’ in Nebraska”, is a recovered English ballad.

Nebraskan Folklore

Louise Pound wrote many other articles regarding Nebraskan folklore. In “Nebraska Strong Men,” Pound writes about Febold Feboldson, Antoine Barada, and Moses Stocking. Febold Feboldson was a fictional character created by Wayne Carroll. An offspring of the Paul Bunyan tales, Feboldson was a hero who wrestled with extreme weather conditions, disease, politicians, and tribal warfare. Antoine Barada and Moses Stocking, on the other hand, were real people whose stories have been exaggerated. Barada was a huge man with great strength during the Civil War era. Stocking was an Eastern Nebraskan who was the most extensive wool grower in the state. Six years later Pound added stories about Barada in “Antoine Barada Again.” In 1952 Pound published “The John Maher Hoaxes.” John Maher was also a real man whose life story was exaggerated. He was the first person to bring winter wheat to Nebraska and served in the state senate. In 1928 Louise Pound published “Nebraska Sandhill Talk,” where she describes the history of the Sandhill region. In 1946, she published” Nebraska Rain Lore and Rain Making” and “Nebraska Snake Lore.” Both include pseudo-scientific lore. She published “Nebraska Legend of Weeping Water” and “Old Nebraska Folk Customs” in 1947. “Old Nebraska Folk Customs” describes traditional civic customs, sports and games, and dance parties. In “Nebraska Cave Lore,” published in 1948, Pound gives a description of many caves found in Nebraska. In 1951, she published the” Legend of the Lincoln Salt Basin,” where she describes how Lincoln became the capital.

Selected Writings

In 1949 Louise Pound published Selected Writings. The book is full of varied topics and is divided into six groups: “Literary,” “Linguistic,” “On Vocabulary and Diction,” “Folkloristic,” “Educational,” and “Miscellaneous.” In the “Literary” section, Pound focuses on poetry. At the beginning of the section, she describes how Walt Whitman’s unique writing style was influenced by his strong appreciation for Italian operatic music. She supports this by providing examples of poems he wrote containing musical terms. In another part, she describes bird poetry and Whitman’s interpretation of it. The rest of the section covers the history of the “Caedmon’s Dream Song,” Edgar Allan Poe’s “The City in the Sea,” an overview of literary anthologies and ballads, and concludes with how she foresees the future of poetry. In the “Linguistic” section, Pound writes about the importance of deciphering words people utter in their sleep, nasals in English speech, the history of the word “darn,” modern trade names, word coinage and research in American English. At the beginning of the “On Vocabulary and Diction section,” Pound describes modern American English. The rest of the section is about Charles Dickens’ dialect, American euphemisms pertaining death, French influence on Walt Whitman’s writing, James Fenimore Cooper’s dialect, and Latin loan words in modern American speech. In the “Folkloristic” section, Pound writes about the terms “communal,” folklore” and dialect.” She also writes about the history of English and Scottish ballads. The rest of the chapter includes folklore of her home state: “Nebraska Folklore,” The Nebraska Legend of Weeping Water,” and “Nebraska Cave Lore.” In the “Educational” section, Pound writes about the history of English literature, the value of English linguistics, contemporary forms of teaching English, graduate work for women, expectations of English teachers, and research of college women. The “Miscellaneous” section is full of odds and ends. The first half includes a part on different ways of pronouncing “neither” and “either ” and this history of their word formation, the fascination with “K” and “R” words, pronouns, plural-singulars from Latin neuters, variations of the word “yes,” indefinite names and adjectives. The second half of the “Miscellaneous” section describes King Cnut’s song and the poem “The Washers of the Shroud.”

Organizations

Louise Pound was active in many organizations. She was head of the literature section of the State Teachers Association in 1915, head of the folklore and ethnology section of the Nebraska Academy of Science in 1917-22, and Nebraska director of the Association of Collegiate Alumni in 1907-08 (Nebraska). She was also a member of the Humanistic Research Association (British), Linguistic Society of America, International Phonetic Association, Medieval Academy of America, national president of American Folklore Society in 1928, member of national council from 1925 to 1927, and vice president of the Spelling Reform Association in 1927-1931 (Nebraskana). She was also an active member of the Modern Language Association and the first female president in 1955 (Haller).

Sources

Secondary Sources

Cochran, Robert. Louise Pound: Scholar, Athlete, Feminist Pioneer. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2009.

"Dr. Louise Pound." Nebraska Alumnus. March 1926. Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Haller, Evelyn. “Louise Pound.” Taped at Lincoln Public Library. 10 November 1988. Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Omaha World Herald Sunday Magazine Section. “Something About American Tradiotional Songs.” 27 October 1929. Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Picture of Louise Pound at a desk. Sunday World-Herald: Omaha, Nebraska. 23 February 1936. Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Primary Sources

Pound, Louise. American Ballads and Songs. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922.

Pound, Louise. “The John G. Maher Hoaxes.” Nebraska History Vol. XXXIII, no.4 (1952). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “The Legend of the Lincoln Salt Basin.” Western Folklore Vol. X, no.2 (1951). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Nebraska’s Antoine Barada Again.” Nebraska History Vol. XXX, no. 3 (1949). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Nebraska Cave Lore.” Nebraska History Vol. VI, no.4 (1947). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Nebraska Legends of Lovers’ Leaps.” Western Folklore Vol. VIII, no. 4 (1949). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Nebraska Legend of Weeping Water.” Western Folklore Vol. VI, no. 4 (1947). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Nebraska Rain Lore and Rain Making.” California Folklore Quarterly Vol. V, no. 2 (1946). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise.” Nebraska Sandhill Talk.” American Speech Vol. IV, no. 2 (1928). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Nebraska Snake Lore.” Southern Folklore Quarterly Vol. X, no. 3 (1946). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. Nebraska Strong Men. Southern Folklore Quarterly Vol. VII, no. 3 (1943). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Old Nebraska Folk Customs.” Nebraska History Vol. XXVIII (1947). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. Selected Writings. Westport: Greenwood Press, Publishers, 1949.

Pound, Louise. “‘Sir Andrew Barton’ in Nebraska.” Southern Folklore Quarterly Vol. II, no. 4 (undated). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise.” A Syllabus of Nebraska Folk-Songs.” Nebraska Ethnology and Folk Lore Series Vol. IX, no. 3 (1915). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.

Pound, Louise. “Traditional Ballads in Nebraska.” The Journal of American Folk-Lore Vol. XXXVI, no. CII. (1913). Archives & Special Collections, UNL Libraries.