Sister Poulin, Collector
Sister Saint Jude (Poulin) S.S.J., elected to write a Master’s Essay (Boston College, 1963) on the folksongs of Maine. She consulted the major printed sources and was convinced that a live singing tradition still existed in this state. Starting completely from scratch, she placed a letter in several Maine newspapers, asking who knew old songs. Then in the early part of 1962 she set out on a field trip to see the people who had responded to her letter. Many of the songs she collected appeared in Northeast Folklore, vol. VII, “Folksongs from Maine.” Her research can also be found at the Northeast Archives of Folklore and Oral History as Collection MF 077: Sister Saint Jude Poulin Folksong Collection.