Disaster Songs as Intangible Memorials in Atlantic Canada

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