Jean Ritchie Receives Heritage Fellowship From The National Endowment For The Arts and the University of Kentucky Library Associates Medallion for Intellectual Achievement.

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Hello Friend,

You may be one of those who've been heard to say, "Whatever happened to Jean Ritchie?" Well, here I am, not kicking too high, but very much alive.

So, if you're interested, read on, and I'll tell you some of the happenings in my life since last we met.

Our residence is in Port Washington, NY- my husband is George Pickow (photography, films and video; our company, Folklife Productions). Son Jon works with George when he's not using his marvelous tenor voice elsewhere (Gregg Smith Singers, the Norman Luboff Choir until Norman's death,  the Dusing Singers...etc). Son Peter lives in NYC and is Editor-in-chief at Music Sales there. The two of them contribute fine vocal and instrumental performances on my recordings. They also act as musical arrangers and producers, and Jon runs our Greenhays Recording Studio.

When we're not in Port Washington or on the road, George and I love to stay in our log house in Viper, Kentucky, on the family land where I was raised. We designed and built the house with local help, using beautiful old recycled logs, hand-hewn from virgin timber about 150 years ago. George refuses to retire, so we don't spend as much time in our KY house as I'd like, but we manage two or three months a year, and all of us are there in June, when the Ritchie Family Reunion takes place!

I still take on about 15-20 singing engagements a year, in colleges, festivals and seminars around the country and abroad. In 1996, George and I spent three weeks in Ireland, helping to set up and open the Ritchie-Pickow Archive at University College Galway, performing, and re-visiting the wonderful folks (and/or their descendants) who sang into our tape recorder and allowed George to photograph them, back in 1952-53 during my Fulbright year in Ireland and the British Isles.

1995 marked my fiftieth year in public performance, and we celebrated it by releasing our latest recording, "Mountain BornJean Ritchie & Sons Sing Cabin Country." To accompany this recording, Kentucky Educational Television did a one-hour Special, "Mountain Born-the Jean Ritchie Story," which played in late December, 1996 around the country on the PBS Network.

This is just a few things...Life is good, and we're enjoying it, and I'm doing my best to age gracefully...Anyway, now I've written to you, and I hope you'll reply. I look forward to hearing from you!    All the best,  Jean Ritchie

Winner of the 1998 Folk Alliance Lifetime Achievement Award.