Ruth Ann Musick
Biographical Information
Ruth Ann Musick, a folklorist, fiction writer, dramatist, and poet, was born in Kirksville, Missouri, on September 17, 1897. Her parents were farmers who lived and worked on a five-acre farm outside the town. Ruth Ann was her parents' only daughter, sandwiched between two brothers. Appreciation of the fine arts was a family trait - Ruth Ann's father was a devoted reader, her uncle was a professional writer, her brother Archie was an artist, and her other brother Ace became a commercial printer.Ruth Ann was a sensitive child, one who became a vegetarian at the age of eight after watching the butchering of farm livestock for sale. She began writing at an early age and one her first literary award, sponsored by the local newspaper, at the age of twelve for a short Christmas story, "St. Nicholas."
She attended Kirksville State Teacher's College (now North Missouri State University) where she wrote a college news column for the Kirksville Daily Express. She received her Bachelors of Science in Education degree from Kirksville State and then continued her education at the State University of Iowa. She graduated with a Master of Science in mathematics in 1928 and a Doctor of Philosophy in English in 1943. During those years, Musick taught both English and mathematics at the high school and college level. She began her college teaching career at Iowa's William Penn College in 1942; two years later she became a member of the faculty of Iowa Wesleyan College. In 1946 she moved to West Virginia to accept a teaching position at Fairmont State College where she continued to teach until her retirement in May 1967.
Dr. Musick had become interested in folklore and the preservation of tradition culture, including songs and stories, while in Missouri. She prepared a collection of family folk songs, many of them originating in England and Scotland, and preserved through oral tradition that was recognized the American Folklore Society. After her move to West Virginia, Dr. Musick became interested in the folklore of the Appalachians. In 1948 she began a folklore course at Fairmont State College. She worked collecting folklore, publishing her first collection, Ballads, Folk Songs, and Folk Tales from West Virginia in 1960. Five years later the University of Kentucky Press published The Tell-tale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Stories, a collection of stories and legends that still chills and thrills West Virginia readers. Her next collection focused on mountain legends that had come to the state from Europe - Green Hills of Magic, West Virginia Folk Tales from Europe (1970). This work earned the first literary award to be given by the West Virginia Library Association (1972). Her final folklore collection, Coffin Hollow, was posthumously published in 1977. She also published and presented numerous papers on folklore. She also published numerous poems and short stories in various periodical publications.
Ruth Ann Musick died in 1974. Her manuscripts are housed in the library that bears her name at Fairmont State College.
Critical Responses
Ruth Ann Musick was known for her dedication to preserving the traditions and folklore of the Mountain State and bringing to wider recognition the beauty of that heritage. Commenting on The Tell-tale Lilac Bush, a critic for the University of Kentucky Press wrote that: "With its variety and extensiveness, this collection forms a significant addition to the growing study of the ghost tale as a type of folk literature." Referring next to The Green Hills of Magic, the critic stated "the entertaining stories are excellent examples of the diverse folk beliefs and cultural patterns of the immigrant groups that have made their home in West Virginia.
Works Published
- Ballads, Folk Songs, and Folk Tales from West Virginia
- The Tell-tale Lilac Bush and Other West Virginia Ghost Tales
- Green Hills of Magic, West Virginia Folktales from Europe
- Coffin Hollow, and Other Ghost Tales
Selected Bibliography
Byers, Judy Prozillo. Ruth Ann Musick -- The Show-Me Mountaineer: A Missourian Adopted by West Virginia. Missouri Folklore Society Journal, 1986-87. 8-9, 89-114.
Musick, Ruth Ann. Witchcraft and the Devil in West Virginia. Appalachian Journal: A Regional Studies Review, 1974. 1, 271-76.
Prozzillo, Judy. Ruth Ann Musick. West Virginia Encyclopedia Supplemental Vol.25. pp.230-232.
Author Website
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