New Release Books by Edith Fowke

Edith Fowke (1913-1996) was a renowned Canadian folklorist, folk song collector, researcher, writer, and teacher who during her long career recorded nearly two thousand songs. Awarded the Order of Canada in 1978 and named a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada in 1983, Fowke's legacy is recognized by folk singers and scholars alike as the most comprehensive work in its field. Producing radio programs for the CBC throughout the 1950s and 1960s, she was responsible for discovering such eminent singers as LaRena Clark, Tom Brandon, and O. J. Abbott. O. J. Abbott was one of Fowke's most prolific singers, as she collected and recorded over 120 of his songs, 66 of them transcribed for this collection. The songs, mostly of Irish origin, were popular among settlers to the Ottawa valley and in the lumber camps of northern Ontario in the late 1800s. Born in England in 1872, Abbott worked throughout Ontario and Quebec in lumber camps before settling in Hull, Quebec. He recorded numerous records for the Folkways label and performed with such folk heroes as The Travellers, Ian and Sylvia, and Pete Seeger. Songs of the North Woods as sung by O.J. Abbott and collected by Edith Fowke includes a detailed musical analysis that outlines the meter, scale, and range of each song, an index that indicates where each song can be found on the original source tapes, and extensive field notes, interviews, and recording details.

New folk music and folk-song materials in this comprehensive study are particularly important for singers, folk music enthusiasts, ethnomusicologists, comparative and cultural studies scholars, and those interested in Canadian culture. LaRena Clark was a great singer and knew many fine songs. Her wide repertoire covers almost the complete range of types and topics of traditional Anglo-Canadian songs. Comparison with other collections in Canada, the United States, the British Isles, and Australia indicate just how unique and far-reaching it was. Clark's background and her varied ancestry shaped her repertoire. The account of her parents' activities gives a vivid picture of folk life in rural Ontario during the early years of this century. She knew some Canadian songs previously unreported, and she wrote songs with a strong Canadian flavour. Musically, Clark's songs are a microcosm of practices characteristic of British folk music throughout the English-speaking world. Particularly noteworthy is her constant reworking of traditional materials, procedures, forms, and individual tunes.

Edith Fowke, scholar and expert on Canadian folklore, accepts the definitions that it is 'material that is handed on by tradition, either by word of mouth or by custom and practice' and that it is 'the hidden submerged culture lying in the shadow of the official civilization about whichhistorians write.' In this survey she discusses collectors, folktales, folk music, minor genres, (speech, riddles, proverbs, childlore), folk arts and material culture, folklife and customs, and analyses the literature on these subjects. There is an extensive bibliography.

Legends Told in Canada is Edith Fowke's selection of Canadian historical legends, of British and French origin, illustrated with artifacts from the collections of the Royal Ontario Museum. Of historical legends Fowke writes, "They are more apt to be linked to a particular place or situation, and therefore reflect a country's history and culture more than other folktales.".

An anthology of Canada's diverse folk traditions, including a section on native people with tales from each major group.

This book is the only comprehensive bibliography of Canadian folklore in English. The 3877 different items are arranged by genres: folktales; folk music and dance; folk speech and naming; superstitions, popular beliefs, folk medicine, and the supernatural; folk life and customs; folk art and material culture; and within genres by ethnic groups: Anglophone and Celtic, Francophone, Indian and Inuit, and other cultural groups. The items include reference books, periodicals, articles, records, films, biographies of scholars and informants, and graduate theses. Each items is annotated through a coding that indicates whether it is academic or popular, its importance to the scholar, and whether it is suitable for young people. The introduction includes a brief survey of Canadian folklore studies, putting this work into academic and social perspective. The book covers all the important items and most minor items dealing with Canadian folklore published in English up to the end of 1979. It is concerned with legitimate Canadian folklore – whether transplanted from other countries and preserved here, or created here to reflect the culture of this country. It distinguishes between authentic folklore presented as collected and popular treatments in which the material has been rewritten by the authors. Intended primarily for scholars of folklore, international as well as Canadian, the book will also be of use to scholars in anthropology, cultural geography, oral history, and other branches of Canadian culture studies, as well as to librarians, teachers, and the general public.

Provides lyrics, music, and chord notation for work and protest songs and discusses each tune's significance in the labor movement

A collection of riddles, rhymes, tongue twisters, charms, omens, and songs drawn from the oral traditions of North America.

Grade level: 5, 6, 7, e, i.

Three hundred singing games include skipping and ball-bouncing rhymes, taunts, teases, and silly songs.

For voice and piano, with chord symbols; words in English or English and French.