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This present volume, the annual scholarly publication of the Australian Folklore Association, follows the general style of earlier numbers of the journal, and it also takes up many of their more recent thematic interests, as well as those to be found in the Proceedings of earlier conferences in which the Association participated. It is the case, too, that many of the concerns of our sister national/international journals - in Canada, in the United Kingdom, for East Asia, and from various regions of the United States of America - are to be found in this volume and planned for No. 16 of 'Australian Folklore'. This latter volume, that for 2001, as well as being commemorative of the centenary of Australian Federation, is also the year of Australia's hosting in Melbourne in July of the World Congress of the International Society for Folk Narrative Research. (The preferred areas of interest and the final call for papers for the Congress are both published now.) This last focus links particularly well with the April 2000 National Library of Australia conference, 'Challenging Australian History: Discovering New Narratives', one particular purpose of which was to explore 'the place and the importance of remembering' and another 'the influence of cultural studies on the history profession'. This volume - like the earlier ones featuring the work of Russel Ward, Dal Stivens, Bill Wannan and (separately) of Alan and Bill Scott - is concerned to celebrate the work of a distinguished folklorist, John Meredith, who turned eighty this year. |
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