Filk Music: Archival Collections

The Robert "Buck" Coulson Collection at the Browne Popular Culture Library (MS-0222) consists of programs and related materials for science fiction and filk music conventions from the 1970s through 2012. The materials were accumulated by Robert "Buck" Coulson and his wife, Juanita Coulson. The conventions represented here are local, regional and international in scope. Included are schedules, panel and event descriptions, voting forms, and more.

The Buck and Juanita Coulson Collection at the Bill Schurk Sound Archives (MUSIC 046) primarily consists of audiotape masters for much of the Off Centaur label's catalog, including live and studio performances for releases beginning in 1980 and ending in the late 1980s. In addition to commercially-released items, some of these tapes also contain non-album tracks, alternate takes, and other material that was not released commercially. There is scant accompanying paper documentation, containing recording dates, personnel, and notes by audio engineers, though this documentation does not exist for all reels. In addition to the audio content, there is also some material that documents publications in the filk community in the 1980s, many of which are related to Off Centaur's recordings, including submissions for zines likely published through Off Centaur and/or Firbird Arts. There are also some zines, convention materials, and other publications.

This Jennifer Donaldson Milewski Collection of Filk Research Material at the Bill Schurk Sound Archives (MUSIC-029) contains material related to the genre of "filk", a music culture characterized by songwriting based on science fiction, fantasy and horror themes. The collection includes Jennifer Donaldson Milewski's field recordings, convention programs, filk songbooks, notes, thesis drafts, correspondence, and interviews. Of particular note are Milewski's interviews with big-name filkers such as Joey Shoji, Kathy Mar, Leslie Fish and Cynthia McQuillen.