ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the historical moment from which the outlaw emerged as a distinctive, archetypal figure in America. It highlights the most important outlaws: Billy the Kid, Jesse James, John Henry, Stagolee, and the general figure of the tramp or hobo. All of these outlaws have been surrounded and their myths augmented by folk culture, distinguishing them not only as particularly American outlaws but also as folk-outlaw-Americans. The book focuses on the anthological process, particularly in regard to Lomax, Sandburg, and Smith, in order to better understand the performative force of these voices to transgress boundaries and disrupt quotidian life. It deals with the uncanniness of the "settled" home, how it is expressed in the folk music milieu, and why we might call the uncanny, unsettled home "outlaw territory", a placeless, liminal space—like the crossroads—that disrupts accepted notions of the settled home.
