Background
Owens, William A. was born on November 2, 1905 in Blossom, Texas, United States. Son of Charles and Jessie Ann (Chennault) Owens.
( Texas, the 1930s—the years of the Great Depression. It ...)
Texas, the 1930s—the years of the Great Depression. It was the Texas of great men: Dobie, Bedichek, Webb, the young Américo Paredes. And it was the Texas of May McCord and "Cocky" Thompson, the Reverend I. B. Loud, the Cajun Marcelle Comeaux, the black man they called "Grey Ghost," and all the other extraordinary "ordinary" people whom William A. Owens met in his travels. "Up and down and sideways" across Texas, Owens traveled. His goal: to learn for himself what the diverse peoples of the state "believed in, yearned for, laughed at, fought over, as revealed in story and song." Tell me a story, sing me a song brings together both the songs he gathered—many accompanied by music—and Owens' warm reminiscences of his travels in the Texas of the Thirties and early Forties.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0292755236/?tag=2022091-20
( This volume is,” in Owens’s words, a sampling of a ri...)
This volume is,” in Owens’s words, a sampling of a rich experience in a richer land.” The 135 songs included, a number of them in versions by more than one singer, are divided into nine chapters containing British popular ballads, Anglo-American ballads, Anglo-American love songs, Anglo-American comic songs, songs and games for children, play-party songs and games, Anglo-American spirituals, African-American spirituals, and African-American secular songs. The British ballads were brought to America in the seventeenth century and later were carried westward to Texas by the adventurous pioneers who settled the state. The American ballad section is full of the stories of battles, crimes, and catastrophes that appealed as subjects to our country’s folk singers when they adapted the British ballad traditions to their own use. There is heroism aplenty in these ballads; but when it came to love, the American singers deserted the heroically tragic tales of British balladry for mournful, plaintive songs in which the sad lover has nothing much to do but waste away in sorrow. Songs like these helped Texas pioneer womenand men alsoto find release from the sternness of frontier life by having a good cry.” On the other hand, humor, too, helpedraw, rugged, raucous humor, as the section of comic songs demonstrates. New musical transcriptions of the melodies have been provided by musicologist Jessie Ann Owens from the original recordings, with guitar chords indicated where the singer provided accompaniment. Bibliographical source notes are included for the benefit of the scholar; but this is not a book just for scholars. These songs have been collected, as Owens has written, for those who love to sing them as well as for those who have an interest in the past.”
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1574411144/?tag=2022091-20
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1104835185/?tag=2022091-20
(This is a story based on the author's childhood experienc...)
This is a story based on the author's childhood experience with a Texas chain gang working on roads near his home in Northeast Texas c. 1920. A terrible, but interesting, snapshot of Texas "justice."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0875650260/?tag=2022091-20
(Dust jacket notes: "This extraordinary autobiography is t...)
Dust jacket notes: "This extraordinary autobiography is the story of a Texas country boy struggling for a livelihood and for the education to make him a teacher. William Owens comes from the tiny community of Pin Hook in East Texas. He grew up in the hard times of the Twenties, moving from country to town and back, picking cotton, working as a stockboy in a Kress department store. His family was desperately poor; at nineteen he was the mainstay. And he was doggedly pursuing an education. A Season of Weathering tells vividly and exactly what it was like - without sentimentality, self-pity, or self-approbation. There were three strong currents running through Owens' youth: the pull between country and town; the desire to get ahead, somehow; and a moving, painful experience with Baptist fundamentalism. The description of revivalist religion, in its simpleness, warmth, and narrowness, is a unique American record. William Owens has written a searchingly honest book which conveys the way of life in a land 'tortured by weather,' and reveals the shaping of a man...."
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/068413022X/?tag=2022091-20
(1989 1st Southern Methodist University. ISBN 0-87074-279-...)
1989 1st Southern Methodist University. ISBN 0-87074-279-5. Hardcover. Octavo, 245pp., photo illustrations, cloth. VG, front cover has long wrinkle, in VG plus DJ.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870742795/?tag=2022091-20
(Lyrics, historical annotation, and musical transcription ...)
Lyrics, historical annotation, and musical transcription of the melodies by Jessie Ann Owens. 135 songs, in an extensive revision of the first edition of this important collection and work of scholarship.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870741578/?tag=2022091-20
writer English language educator
Owens, William A. was born on November 2, 1905 in Blossom, Texas, United States. Son of Charles and Jessie Ann (Chennault) Owens.
Bachelor, Southern Methodist University, 1932. Master of Arts, Southern Methodist University, 1933. Doctor of Letters (honorary), Southern Methodist University, 1978.
Doctor of Philosophy, State University Iowa, 1941.
Teacher, Lamar County (Texas) Schools, 1928-1930;
teacher, Greenville (Texas) Public Schools, 1934-1935;
instructor English, Wesley College, Greenville, 1935;
instructor English, Mississippi State College, 1936;
teacher English, Robert E. Lee High School, Goose Creek, Texas, 1936-1937;
member of faculty, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1937-1947;
associate professor, Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College, 1941-1947;
member of faculty, Columbia University, New York City, 1947-1990;
associate Professor of English, Columbia University, New York City, 1953-1966;
professor, Columbia University, New York City, 1966-1974;
professor emeritus, Columbia University, New York City, 1974-1990;
director summer session, Columbia University, New York City, 1959-1969;
dean summer session, Columbia University, New York City, 1969-1972;
dean emeritus, Columbia University, New York City, 1974-1990. Director research folk materials University Texas, 1941, director oral history Texas oil pioneers, 1952-1958. Writer in residence Texas Agricultural and Mechanical U., 1976.
Visiting Professor of English University Texas at Austin, summer 1978.
(Dust jacket notes: "This extraordinary autobiography is t...)
(This is a story based on the author's childhood experienc...)
(Lyrics, historical annotation, and musical transcription ...)
( This volume is,” in Owens’s words, a sampling of a ri...)
(Fair and Happy Land, A: A Chronicle of Frontier America b...)
(An eloquent chronicle of one man's insatiable desire for ...)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
(This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)
(Tales from the Derrick Floor: A People's History of the O...)
( Texas, the 1930s—the years of the Great Depression. It ...)
( Texas, the 1930s—the years of the Great Depression. It ...)
(1989 1st Southern Methodist University. ISBN 0-87074-279-...)
(Paperback book, 1988. A story of "Jim Crow" laws in actio...)
(First edition. 1950. Our books are shipped with tracking.)
(History)
(1st)
Second lieutenant Army of the United States, 1942-1945.
Married Ann Slater Wood, December 23, 1946. Children: Jessie Ann, David Edward.