[Document 3]

Sent to: North and South Carolina, Georgia,
Alabama, Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas,
Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri,
Mississippi, Oklahoma.

April 14, 1937

Mr. Edwin Bjorkman
State Director, Federal Writers' Project
Works Progress Administration
City Hall, Fifth Floor
Asheville, North Carolina

Dear Mr. Bjorkman:

We have received more stories of ex-slaves and are gratified by the
quality and interest of the narratives. Some of these stories have been
accompanied by photographs of the subjects. We would like to have
portraits wherever they can be secured, but we urge your photographers
to make the studies as simple, natural, and "unposed" as possible. Let
the background, cabin or whatnot, be the normal setting--in short, just
the picture a visitor would expect to find by "dropping in" on one of
these old-timers.

Enclosed is a memorandum of Mr. Lomax with suggestions for simplifying
the spelling of certain recurring dialect words. This does not mean that
the interviews should be entirely in "straight English"--simply, that we
want them to be more readable to those uninitiated in the broadest Negro
speech.

Very truly yours,

George Cronyn
Associate Director
Federal Writers' Project

GWCronyn:MEB

This paragraph was added to the letter to Arkansas.

Mr. Lomax is very eager to get such records as you mention: Court
Records of Sale, Transfer, and Freeing of Slaves, as well as prices
paid.

Negro Dialect Suggestions
(Stories of Ex-Slaves)

Do not write:

_Ah_ for I

_Poe_ for po' (poor)

_Hit_ for it

_Tuh_ for to

_Wuz_ for was

_Baid_ for bed

_Daid_ for dead

_Ouh_ for our

_Mah_ for my

_Ovah_ for over

_Othuh_ for other

_Wha_ for whar (where)

_Undah_ for under

_Fuh_ for for

_Yondah_ for yonder

_Moster_ for marster or massa

_Gwainter_ for gwineter (going to)

_Oman_ for woman

_Ifn_ for iffen (if)

_Fiuh_ or _fiah_ for fire

_Uz_ or _uv_ or _o'_ for of

_Poar_ for poor or po'

_J'in_ for jine

_Coase_ for cose

_Utha_ for other

_Yo'_ for you

_Gi'_ for give

_Cot_ for caught

_Kin'_ for kind

_Cose_ for 'cause

_Tho't_ for thought

[Document 4]

WORKS PROGRESS ADMINISTRATION
Federal Writers' Project
1500 Eye St. N.W.
Washington, D.C.

SUPPLEMENTARY INSTRUCTIONS #9-E
To
THE AMERICAN GUIDE MANUAL

FOLKLORE
STORIES FROM EX-SLAVES

Note: In some states it may be p