LINCOLNSHIRE FOLK TALES
and folklores of place
A one-day symposium,
Nottingham Trent University,
Friday 11 April 2025, 9am to 6pm
The majority of papers delivered at the symposium in april 2025 are in the process of being archived by the Folklore Library and Archive. This symposium led to the development of a (forthcoming) special issue of the journal Revenant, co-edited by Rory Waterman and Anna Milon. Below is the call for papers for the symposium, so you can discover what it was about.
The folklore of the East of England is as multifarious as the landscapes and communities that created it. It captures the changing fenlands, waves of settlement, war, the tribulations of fishing and farming, historical and religious understanding and interpretation, and moments in the lives of common people. Yet for all the folk tales that are still retold, many more are overlooked by or unknown to folklorists and storytellers.
As folklore is increasingly recognised as an important medium for conversations around the environment, identity, and belonging, this symposium invites delegates to focus on overlooked folklores of place in Lincolnshire and beyond.
The keynote speakers will be Dr Ceri Houlbrook (Lecturer in folklore and history, University of Hertfordshire) and Thor Ewing (storyteller). All panel papers will include a focus, at least to some extent, on Lincolnshire, and the finalised programme will be available soon. Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- Overlooked folklore, especially concerning Lincolnshire.
- Retelling folk tales and modern storytelling traditions.
- Connections between Lincolnshire and elsewhere – regionally, nationally, and/or internationally and cross-culturally – in folk tales or folklore.
- ‘Creative’ or creative-critical responses to or uses of folk tales in new writing.
- Literary and/or historical connections in folk tales.
- Folklores of the fenland landscape and responses to environmental changes.
- Folk tales’ influence on literature, film, and other media.
- Folk tales and intertextuality and/or allusion.
- Children’s literature and folk tales.
- Native anthropology, auto-ethnography and the presence of folklorists in their work.
- The lives and methods of Lincolnshire folklorists, e.g. Marie Clothilde Balfour, Ethel Rudkin, Mabel Peacock, James Alpass Penny.
- Curating storied locations: who cares for folk tale places and how?
- Self-selection in folk studies and overlooked areas.
The Lincolnshire Folk Tales and Folklore(s) of Place symposium is organised as part of the Lincolnshire Folk Tales project, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Nottingham Trent University. The symposium is free to attend for all who register, and travel bursaries of up to £50 are available to a limited number of participants, based on need. The symposium will take place at Nottingham Trent University (and on Teams), on April 11th 2025.
Dr Rory Waterman
Dr Anna Milon
Lincolnshire Folk Tales Project 