ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses how to do fieldwork on forms of verbal art, such as poetry and song. Verbal art may be amongst the most highly valued form of language in a speech community and in this chapter we outline a whole range of reasons to document verbal art. We discuss differences between the form and function of verbal artforms. We suggest a methodology for working on verbal arts, including documentation of their social context; how to manage recordings and disseminate them to the community. We consider issues in transcribing and translating verbal arts. We also discuss issues particular to the publishing and archiving of verbal art; and suggest intercultural exchanges as an exciting way to disseminate and promote community languages and linguistic research.
