Alan Jabbour

Alan Jabbour, who for many years was on the board of the Alliance for American Quilts, served from 1976 through 1999 as the founding director of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. Previously, he was founding director of the Folk Arts Program for the National Endowment for the Arts (1974-76) and head of the Archive of Folk Song (now the Archive of Folk Culture) at the Library of Congress (1969-74). He received an M.A. and a Ph.D. from Duke University. He lectures frequently and has published widely on folklore and folk music subjects. Since he retired from federal service, he spends his time writing, lecturing, concertizing, doing field and library research, and consulting. He and his wife, Karen Singer Jabbour, have completed a book on the Southern folk custom usually known as Decoration Day, and he recently published a book transcribing and analyzing Appalachian fiddle tunes.