Synopses & Reviews
Focusing on the importance of traditional and popular poetry for the poets, the presenters, and the local audience, Greenhill examines the activity of creating and using poetry in a community context. She gives numerous examples of Ontario folk verse, among them twenty-one poems about Canadian runner Terry Fox, whose battle with cancer inspired many folk poets. True Poetry pioneers the examination of folk poetry in Canada and adds to a limited body of scholarship on the topic. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with Canadian society, traditional folklore, and popular culture.
Review
"The author's examples of the use of folk poetry clearly and effectively demonstrate the genre's meaning, and her examination of the Terry Fox poems reflects the significance of this material and its subject in Canadian culture as a whole." Carole Carpenter, Division of Humanities, York University.
Synopsis
Ontario is not a homogeneous culture, but rather a conglomerate of ethnic cultures and rural and urban populations. In True Poetry: Traditional and Popular Verse in Ontario, Pauline Greenhill describes and evaluates the significance of folk verse, suggesting that it provides a method for creating community solidarity and communicating cultural values and expectations.