Read more
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.
List of contents
Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Formal Memorials, Vernacular Memorials, and Disaster Songs Chapter 3 Going Down in History: The Story of Disaster Songs Chapter 4 Locating Meaning: The Place of Disasters in Songs Chapter 5 Spontaneity & Ephemerality: The Timing of Memorialization Chapter 6 Social Significance: The Motivation to Create Disaster Songs Chapter 7 Personal Motivations: Relationships & Grief Chapter 8 News & Social Media: Inspiring, Informing, and Disseminating Disaster Songs Chapter 9 Conclusion
Summary
Disaster Songs as Intangible Memorials in Atlantic Canada draws on a collection of over 500 Atlantic Canadian songs relating to disasters from 1891 up until the present, and describes the characteristics that define them as intangible memorials.
Report
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
