Folklore of Canada

Canada’s best-known folklorist presents the ultimate collection of Canadian tales, songs, stories, rhymes, legends, and jokes. Gathered from every corner of the country, the material reflects Canada’s diversity, featuring folklore from the traditions of English and French Canada, several First Nations, and our disparate immigrant communities.

Folklore of Canada is a browser’s delight and also a lively work of scholarship. From the hilarious to the profound, this classic work captures the plain-talking traditions of Canadian folklore for all time.“Scholar, populist, teacher and chronicler of vanishing ways of life, Edith Fowke produced a body of work which will stand. Her career filled a great void in the field of folksong and folklore studies, not only in Canada but throughout the world.”
Folk Alliance

“Fowke’s knowledge of her subject is almost as complete as the average Canadian’s ignorance of it, yet her scholarship is quiet and unobtrusive. She has humour but no condescension; she is appreciative but never writes advertising copy.”
Northrop FryeEdith Fowke (1913-1996) was a professor in the Department of English, York University and a member of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of the American Folklore Society. She is the author of many books and articles on Canadian folk songs and children's lore, and was the editor of Folklore Canada and the Canadian Folk Music Journal.