Disaster Songs as Intangible Memorials in Atlantic Canada draws on a collection of over 600 songs relating to Atlantic Canadian disasters from 1891 up until the present and describes the characteristics that define them as intangible memorials. The book demonstrates the relationship between vernacular memorials - informal memorials collectively and spontaneously created from a variety of objects by the general public - and disaster songs. The author identifies the features that define vernacular memorials and applies them to disaster songs: spontaneity, ephemerality, importance of place, motivations and meaning-making, content, as well as the role of media in inspiring and disseminating memorials and songs. Visit the companion website: www.disastersongs.ca.

About the Author

Heather Sparling is Professor of ethnomusicology and the Canada Research Chair in Musical Traditions at Cape Breton University in Canada.

Reviews

The book draws attention to an interesting phenomenon which
certainly invites further study and alternative approaches. The corpus itself
is a fascinating collection, and the website is an essential complement to the
book (although it is rarely mentioned there). Sparling certainly offers answers
to the questions she sets herself in terms of the significance of disaster songs
as social and cultural responses to tragic death and contemporary death
culture, how they arise and develop, the differential identities and motivations
of those who compose them, the relationship of newer disaster songs to the
musical history of the region and its influences, and the impact of media
technologies on this phenomenon. Those interested will want to read this
book and see if they agree.

- Julia C. Bishop (University of Sheffield) for the Folk Music Journal

Disaster Songs as Intangible Memorials in Atlantic Canada is also exceptionally well written. Sparling offers a balance between anecdotes, which draw in the reader, and clear exposition of factual detail to support her argument. Her use of the characteristics of vernacular memorials as an organizational scheme for chapter topics, and her choice to begin with Maurice Ruddick's song about the Springhill Mine disaster and to conclude with a song written by his great-granddaughter, also contribute to the book's sense of cohesion. This book will be useful to those in many disciplines, including ethnomusicology, folklore, anthropology, and media studies.

- Hilary Warner-Evans (Indiana University) for the Journal of Folklore Research Reviews

Book Information
ISBN 9781032431147
Author Heather Sparling
Format Paperback
Page Count 218
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 453g