Real Folks: Race and Genre in the Great Depression

(Duke University Press) In this book, Retman examines how the idea of “the folk” — an identity derived from rural American know-how — during the Great Depression was invented and how it became a figure of authenticity. She also examines the critiques that arose in response to the idea. Retman is an associate professor of African American studies and adjunct associate professor of women’s studies and English at the University of Washington.