{"product_id":"all-in-the-downs-isbn-9781907222412","title":"All in the Downs","description":"\u003cb\u003eA memoir from one of Britain's legendary singers, folklorists, and music historians.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003eA legendary singer, folklorist, and music historian, Shirley Collins has been an integral part of the folk-music revival for more than sixty years. In her new memoir, \u003ci\u003eAll in the Downs\u003c\/i\u003e, Collins tells the story of that lifelong relationship with English folksong—a dedication to artistic integrity that has guided her through the triumphs and tragedies of her life.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAll in the Downs\u003c\/i\u003e combines elements of memoir—from her working-class origins in wartime Hastings to the bright lights of the 1950s folk revival in London—alongside reflections on the role traditional music and the English landscape have played in shaping her vision. From formative field recordings made with Alan Lomax in the United States to the “crowning glories” recorded with her sister Dolly on the Sussex Downs, she writes of the obstacles that led to her withdrawal from the spotlight and the redemption of a new artistic flourishing that continues today with her unexpected return to recording in 2016.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eThrough it all, Shirley Collins has been guided and supported by three vital and inseparable loves: traditional English song, the people and landscape of her native Sussex, and an unwavering sense of artistic integrity. \u003ci\u003eAll in the Downs\u003c\/i\u003e pays tribute to these passions, and in doing so, illustrates a way of life as old as England, that has all but vanished from this land.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGenerously illustrated with rare archival material.\u003c\/p\u003eIn these pages Shirley Collins completes her comeback, reclaiming her rightful place in the English folk revival from those who placed obstacles in her way.—\u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e—\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is music in Collins's writing too. When Jimi Hendrix visits her and her first husband in London ('I can see why John married you'), it sings lustily. She also writes tenderly of tragedy; the section about her sister and musical collaborator Dolly's death is particularly moving. Another strong female voice to add to the chorus of music history, then, going against the grain, so tunefully.\u003c\/p\u003e—\u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e—Shirley Collins is a renowned folk singer. She is the president of the English Folk Dance and Song Society in London. Her critically lauded album \u003ci\u003eLodestar\u003c\/i\u003e, released in 2016, marked a triumphant return to performance after a thirty-year absence. She is the author of \u003ci\u003eAll in the Downs: Reflections on Reflections on Life, Landscape, and Song\u003c\/i\u003e (Strange Attractor).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eStewart Graham Lee is an English stand-up comedian, writer and director.","brand":"Strange Attractor Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46303683543269,"sku":"NP9781907222412","price":20.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781907222412.jpg?v=1767721270","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/all-in-the-downs-isbn-9781907222412","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}