Ives, Edward (1925 - 2009)

Genre: Non-Fiction - Scholarly

Edward D. (Sandy) Ives was born in White Plains, N.Y. He served in the Marine Corps, graduated from Hamilton College (B.S. Engish and History), received his M.A. degree in medieval literature at Columbia University, and his Ph.D. in folklore from Indiana University (1962). He taught English at Illinois College (1950-1953); The City College of New York (1953-1954); the University of Maine, English and Folklore for 44 years, retiring in 1999. He was also a guest lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, and the University of Sheffield, England.

He made many important contributions to the field of folklore and oral history and founded what is now known as the Maine Folklife Center and served as its director for over 20 years. He authored or co-authored several books, published articles in scholarly journals, edited 33 volumes of Northeast Folklore, and recorded folk songs and tape recorded interviews of oral history which have been used in workshops and courses across the country. In 2006, some of these recordings were included in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress.

Selected Bibliography

  • Larry Gorman: The Man Who Made the Songs (1964)
  • Lawrence Doyle: The Farmer-Poet of Prince Edward Island: A Study in Local Songmaking (1971)
  • Argyle Boom... (1977)
  • Joe Scott, the Woodsman-Songmaker (1978)
  • The Tape-Recorded Interview: A Manual for Field Workers in Folklore and Oran History (1980)
  • George Magoon and the Down East Game War: History, Folklore, and the Law (1988)
  • Drive Dull Care Away: Folksongs from Prince Edward Island (1999)
  • Wilmot MacDonald at the Miramichi Folksong Festival (2002)

Selected Resources