women in folk

Last month I wrote a review of Anaïs Mitchell's latest (fabulous) album, Young Man in America. I sent Anaïs a few questions about her work, past and present, and her place in the folk pantheon. Read on for her thorough, thoughtful answers!

Does anyone else organize their iTunes by season? Singer-songwriter Anaïs Mitchell is the artist that got me started doing it, as no single album reminds me more of summer than her 2010 folk opera Hadestown. It's drenched in sunlight, warm voices, young love, and, as Kristin mentioned in her Preacher's Daughter series, a feminist perspective on Greek tragedy. Her latest album, Young Man in America, is spring; all births and unfoldings and discoveries, and an occasional dip back into winter dark. Point being, Mitchell is a songwriter for all seasons, one of young American folk music's best, and she's getting better and better.