A Sigh and a Wish: Helen Creighton's Maritimes

A Sigh and a Wish: Helen Creighton's Maritimes

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2001-01-01

A Sigh and a Wish tells the story of pioneer folklorist Helen Creighton and of the enduring appeal of her remarkable collections of song and story. Creighton helped define Maritime culture as we know it. Thanks to her, folk songs moved out of the kitchens and the fishing boats and into the mainstream. Top contemporary Maritime musicians - talents like Mary Jane Lamond and Lennie Gallant - describe how deeply they have been influenced by Creighton. For 60 years, Creighton sought out ghost stories, superstitions and tales of buried treasure, as well as songs handed down from generation to generation: fishing songs, work songs, love songs. Timeless songs. A Sigh and a Wish is a moving tribute to the genius of a self-taught folklorist and to the continuing strength of the deep oral traditions she helped preserve. But it also raises important questions. Does Creighton's collection truly reflect Maritime culture, or is it tinged by her own upper-middle-class assumptions?

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A Sigh and a Wish: Helen Creighton's Maritimes

Storyline

A Sigh and a Wish tells the story of pioneer folklorist Helen Creighton and of the enduring appeal of her remarkable collections of song and story. Creighton helped define Maritime culture as we know it. Thanks to her, folk songs moved out of the kitchens and the fishing boats and into the mainstream. Top contemporary Maritime musicians - talents like Mary Jane Lamond and Lennie Gallant - describe how deeply they have been influenced by Creighton. For 60 years, Creighton sought out ghost stories, superstitions and tales of buried treasure, as well as songs handed down from generation to generation: fishing songs, work songs, love songs. Timeless songs. A Sigh and a Wish is a moving tribute to the genius of a self-taught folklorist and to the continuing strength of the deep oral traditions she helped preserve. But it also raises important questions. Does Creighton's collection truly reflect Maritime culture, or is it tinged by her own upper-middle-class assumptions?

Released

2001-01-01

Runtime

74

Director

Donna Davies

Budget

$0

Revenue

$0

Genres

Language

English

Production

ONF | NFB

Casts

  • Image 2

    Odile Boyd

    Odile Boyd
  • Image 2

    Clary Croft

    Clary Croft
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    Teresa Doyle

    Teresa Doyle
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    Lennie Gallant

    Lennie Gallant
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    Mary Jane Lamond

    Mary Jane Lamond
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    Ashley MacIsaac

    Ashley MacIsaac
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    Rod C. MacNeil

    Rod C. MacNeil
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    Catherine Martin

    Catherine Martin
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    Raylene Rankin

    Raylene Rankin
  • Image 2

    Pete Seeger

    Pete Seeger