Joyce E. Hakala

One out of three isn't bad when the one is extraordinarily good.

This is, in effect, (at least) three books in one. It's a biography of Marjorie Edgar, Finnish song collector and major figure in the Girl Scouts. It's documentation of her work in the Scouts. And it's a publication of her large archive of Finnish songs.

I can't speak to the accuracy of the biography or of the significance of Edgar's work; it's simply beyond my field. But if you want a collection of Finnish songs from Minnesota's Iron Range and beyond -- this is the book. There is no other, so there isn't much competition, but this book does absolutely everything right. There are 72 Finnish songs, and each one has:
1. Text and tune, attractively printed
2. English translation
3. Source notes: Song informant, where collected, and sometimes information about other versions
Plus there are capsule biographies of the informants.
This is all the more impressive since the material had to be extracted from the incredible mess that is the Edgar archives in the Minnesota Historical Society. I tried looking those up once. There is some fascinating stuff (e.g. correspondence between Edgar's father and future president Herbert Hoover), but finding things in it is very difficult. To produce such results from such unpromising materials is a great accomplishment.

If you aren't interested in Finnish folk songs, of course, this is of little interest. But if you have any interest at all in Finnish culture in America, this belongs in your library.… (altro)