ART OF THE AMERICAN FOLK PREACHER, THE.

New York: Oxford University Press., 1970. Dust jacket has 3/4" blue circle sticker in upper right front corner and some spine-sunning, otherwise Very Good. "Mr. Rosenberg, whose specialty is medieval literature, noticed whil listening by chance to a radio sermon that the preacher was using compositional devices similar to those found in ancient and medieval epics.. The author's analysis of these sermons, twelve of which are included in this book, shows that they reinforce the formulaic theory of oral composition developed by Milman Parry and Albert B. Lord in the 1930's, when they recorded Yugoslavian folk singers whose compositional devices were like those of the Homeric epics. Mr. Rosenberg found that similar parallels could be drawn between the rhetoric of the 'spiritual' sermons -- the Word of the Lord directly inspired and chanted: not read or delivered from notes -- and that of such medieval oral epics as Beowulf or the Nibelungenlied. His commentary on these sermons serves as an introduction to an art form of great interest in its own right, and one that will be new to many Americans." 265 pp. We have2 copies for sale. [Loc=Folklore]. Cloth. Very Good/Good. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall.