So Ole Says to Lena: Folk Humor of the Upper Midwest - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0299173747 ISBN 13: 9780299173746

Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press, 2001

Synopsis

In the land of beer, cheese, and muskies—where the polka is danced and winter is unending and where Lutherans and Catholics predominate—everybody is ethnic, the politics are clean, and the humor is plentiful. This collection includes jokes, humorous anecdotes, and tall tales from ethnic groups (Woodland Indians, French, Cornish, Germans, Irish, Scandinavians, Finns, and Poles) and working folk (loggers, miners, farmers, townsfolk, hunters, and fishers). Dig into the rich cultural context supplied by the notes and photographs, or just laugh at the hundreds of jokes gathered at small-town cafes, farm tables, job sites, and church suppers. This second edition includes an afterword and indexes of motifs and tale types.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

"A treasure trove of 'occupational humor' that's often slightly racy and usually shot through with a blunt appreciation of the peculiar ways of the Midwestern world."-Tom Laskin, Isthmus

"Leary conveys a palpable sense of the original joke telling experience."-Clyde Wade, Humor:International Journal of Humor Research

About the Author:

James P. Leary is director of the Folklore Program and professor in the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His books include Wisconsin Folklore, also published by the University of Wisconsin Press, Minnesota Polka, Yodeling in Dairyland, and, with Richard March, Down Home Dairyland.

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Wisconsin Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0299173747
• ISBN 13: 9780299173746
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 296