Ursula A. Kelly – författare

Ursula A. Kelly draws on radical theories of literacy, culture, identity and pedagogy to frame the culture of pedagogy as it relates to human desire. Examples from (auto)biography, classroom practices, and popular media provide the means by which the author highlights some of the pedagogical dilemmas facing literacy practices which often work to silence the cultural politics of identity and desire.

This collection includes a variety of forms - art, photography, personal narrative, translation and cross disciplinary scholarly essay - to discuss many levels and kinds of loss: cultural assimilation and change, environmental devastation, language loss, personal and collective losses, community tragedies, and a loss of continuity and sense of home and place. The book as a whole considers the impact of these losses and their relationship to culture, memory, and identity. As part of this consideration, Despite This Loss celebrates and supports new and established lines of inquiry into the structures of feeling that constitute place and belonging. The collection includes work by a new generation of cultural workers whose claims to and dreams for this place hold promise and provide a vibrant and provocative array of perspectives on cultural loss.

While well-known songs such as "The Badger Drive" and "Tickle Cove Pond" provide glimpses into the hard labour and rich culture of woods work in early twentieth-century Newfoundland and Labrador, little has been written about the lives of woods workers and the extent of their enduring cultural legacies. Songs, stories, recitations, poems, and instrumental tunes flourished in the woods camps. Many of them were created locally and reflect the people and experiences of woods work. Passed down by oral tradition in bunkhouses and at work sites, in family kitchens and at community concerts, these songs and stories address a gap in our understanding of this occupational culture and its history. This book is the first comprehensive collection of musical compositions, recitations, poems, and narratives written by, for, and about twentieth-century woods workers in Newfoundland and Labrador. It analyzes their significance—as both grassroots social history texts and creative and musical contributions—and creates a portrait of a culture shaped by the harvesting of timber. Inside you will find: a history of lumbering and logging; an exploration of the place of song and story in woods work and culture; musical transcriptions of 76 locally composed songs and tunes, with analysis of this musical tradition; complete song lyrics with contextual discussion; more than 70 archival photos; and a glossary of occupational words.