ABSTRACT
Yet many contemporary folklorists realize that texts can be more ethnographic than strictly literary and, once they have considered how the folklorist’s identity has contributed to producing the text, turn to matters beyond the verbal to examine the texts for what they reveal about the dynamic interrelationships among such performance variables as audience, situation, performer psychology, and general cultural background. The collection, identification, and interpretation of texts within cultural contexts are skills that define the folklorist’s enterprise of discerning tradition.
