Helen Creighton
Encyclopedia
Mary Helen Creighton, CM
(September 5, 1899 - December 12, 1989) was a prominent Canadian folklorist
. She collected over 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and myths in a career that spanned several decades, and she published many books and articles on Nova Scotia folk songs and folklore. She received numerous honorary degrees for her work and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1976.
, Nova Scotia
, she developed an early interest in folklore and the super natural. She had a sister who suffered from a mental disability.
Between 1914 and 1916 she attended Halifax Ladies College and earned a junior diploma in music at McGill University in 1915. In 1918, she joined the Royal Flying Corps in Toronto and by 1920, she had returned to Nova Scotia as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross Caravan.
and suggested Creighton attempt to find more songs. She began to travel around Nova Scotia, collecting songs, tales and customs of Gaelic
, English
, German
, Mi'kmaq, African and Acadian
origin. Frequently, she had to walk or sail to remote regions to satisfy her interest, all the while pushing a metre-long melodeon
in a wheelbarrow. Among Creighton's many contributions was the discovery of the traditional "Nova Scotia Song", widely called "Farewell to Nova Scotia
", which has become a sort of provincial anthem.
Between 1942 and 1946, Creighton received three Rockefeller Foundation fellowships to collect songs in Nova Scotia. The second of these fellowships was used to collect songs with equipment loaned by the Library of Congress
. Creighton also made recordings for the Canadian Museum of Civilization
from 1947-1967.
She made excursions outside of Nova Scotia, notably to New Brunswick from 1954 to 1960 (Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick contains material from that period), however, she preferred not to collect in the places of fellow researchers such as Louise Manny
.
In her later life she lived at Evergreen House on Newcastle Street in Dartmouth.
(and by later governments and influential writers) to create a myth of "hardy fisherfolk" and "Nova Scotia rustics" that actually demean, commidify, and mythologize the realities of working-class lived experience in Nova Scotia.
Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia has been criticized for 'selective editing'. Maritime Folk Songs, a record of nineteen songs from Creighton's collection, was criticized by some reviewers for its selection of songs.
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
(September 5, 1899 - December 12, 1989) was a prominent Canadian folklorist
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
. She collected over 4,000 traditional songs, stories, and myths in a career that spanned several decades, and she published many books and articles on Nova Scotia folk songs and folklore. She received numerous honorary degrees for her work and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1976.
Early life
Born on Portland Street in DartmouthDartmouth, Nova Scotia
Dartmouth founded in 1750, is a community and planning area of the Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia. Located on the eastern shore of Halifax Harbour, Dartmouth has been nicknamed the City of Lakes after the large number of lakes located in the city.On April 1, 1996, the provincial...
, Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
, she developed an early interest in folklore and the super natural. She had a sister who suffered from a mental disability.
Between 1914 and 1916 she attended Halifax Ladies College and earned a junior diploma in music at McGill University in 1915. In 1918, she joined the Royal Flying Corps in Toronto and by 1920, she had returned to Nova Scotia as an ambulance driver with the Red Cross Caravan.
Song collecting
In 1928, Creighton returned to Nova Scotia in search of literary material, and met with Dr. Henry Munro, the Superintendent of Education for the Province of Nova Scotia. Munro showed her a copy of Sea Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia by W. Roy MacKenzieW. Roy MacKenzie
William Roy MacKenzie was a Canadian folklorist and author who collected songs and ballads in Nova Scotia in the early 20th century.-Influence of Francis Child:...
and suggested Creighton attempt to find more songs. She began to travel around Nova Scotia, collecting songs, tales and customs of Gaelic
Gaels
The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....
, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
, German
Culture of Germany
German culture began long before the rise of Germany as a nation-state and spanned the entire German-speaking world. From its roots, culture in Germany has been shaped by major intellectual and popular currents in Europe, both religious and secular...
, Mi'kmaq, African and Acadian
Acadian
The Acadians are the descendants of the 17th-century French colonists who settled in Acadia . Acadia was a colony of New France...
origin. Frequently, she had to walk or sail to remote regions to satisfy her interest, all the while pushing a metre-long melodeon
Melodeon (organ)
A melodeon is a type of 19th century reed organ with a foot-operated vacuum bellows, and a piano keyboard. It differs from the related harmonium, which uses a pressure bellows. Melodeons were manufactured in the United States sometime after 1812 until the Civil War era...
in a wheelbarrow. Among Creighton's many contributions was the discovery of the traditional "Nova Scotia Song", widely called "Farewell to Nova Scotia
Farewell to Nova Scotia
"Farewell to Nova Scotia" is a popular folk song from Nova Scotia of unknown authorship, collected by folklorist Helen Creighton. It is believed to have been written just prior to or during the First World War. "Farewell to Nova Scotia" brings the listener back to an age when Nova Scotia was...
", which has become a sort of provincial anthem.
Between 1942 and 1946, Creighton received three Rockefeller Foundation fellowships to collect songs in Nova Scotia. The second of these fellowships was used to collect songs with equipment loaned by the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
. Creighton also made recordings for the Canadian Museum of Civilization
Canadian Museum of Civilization
The Canadian Museum of Civilization is Canada's national museum of human history and the most popular and most-visited museum in Canada....
from 1947-1967.
She made excursions outside of Nova Scotia, notably to New Brunswick from 1954 to 1960 (Folksongs from Southern New Brunswick contains material from that period), however, she preferred not to collect in the places of fellow researchers such as Louise Manny
Louise Manny
Louise Elizabeth Manny was a New Brunswick folklorist and historian. She was born in Gilead, Maine but her family moved to New Brunswick when she was three...
.
In her later life she lived at Evergreen House on Newcastle Street in Dartmouth.
Criticisms
Creighton had little formal training in folklore and song collecting and has been criticized for requiring academics to edit the published collections. While regarded as among the most significant collectors in North America, reviews of Creighton's published volumes have drawn some criticism. Historian Ian MacKay argues that Creighton was a product of her class and social upbringing and that her folk collections were incorporated and co-opted as part of a broader movement that contributed to the commodification of "Scottishness" in Nova Scotian tourism literature in the late 1930s and later that defied class and historical realities. McKay further suggests that Creighton's work was used by the provincial government of Angus L. MacdonaldAngus Lewis Macdonald
Angus Lewis Macdonald, PC, QC , popularly known as 'Angus L.', was a Canadian lawyer, law professor and politician from Nova Scotia. He served as the Liberal premier of Nova Scotia from 1933 to 1940, when he became the federal minister of defence for naval services...
(and by later governments and influential writers) to create a myth of "hardy fisherfolk" and "Nova Scotia rustics" that actually demean, commidify, and mythologize the realities of working-class lived experience in Nova Scotia.
Songs and Ballads from Nova Scotia has been criticized for 'selective editing'. Maritime Folk Songs, a record of nineteen songs from Creighton's collection, was criticized by some reviewers for its selection of songs.
Awards and recognition
The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame awarded Helen Creighton the Frank Davies Legacy Award in 2011.External links
- The Helen Creighton Folklore Society
- NFB documentary A Sigh and a Wish: Helen Creighton's Maritimes
- The Helen Creighton Collection Virtual Exhibit at Nova Scotia Archives and Records Management
- Helen Creighton recordings in the Library of Congress Traditional Music and Spoken Word Catalog
- http://catalogue.civilization.ca/musvw/List.csp?SearchT1=Helen+Creighton&Index1=1*Authorbib&Database=1_CMC3&SearchMethod=Find_1&SearchTerm1=Helen+Creighton&OpacLanguage=eng&Profile=CMCLIBARCH&EncodedRequest=*BBN*C0*CEw*0Dw*1D*99*EE*CE*97*9B*E0*25*29&EncodedQuery=*BBN*C0*CEw*0Dw*1D*99*EE*CE*97*9B*E0*25*29&Source=SysQR&PageType=Start&PreviousList=RecordListFind&WebPageNr=1&NumberToRetrieve=50&WebAction=NewSearch&StartValue=0&RowRepeat=0&ExtraInfo=SearchFromList&SortIndex=Author&SortDirection=1/Helen Creighton recordings at the Library and Archives of the Canadian Museum of Civilization]