Dr. Billy Johnson, Assistant Professor of English, will give a lecture titled "Arthur Huff Fauset's Folklore from Nova Scotia and the Idea of Modern Canada" on October 20, 2026, at 7 pm, in the Faculty Lounge (Room 201), SDU Main Building, University of Prince Edward Island.
Dr. Billy Johnson
The lecture is part of the Island Lecture Series, which is presented by the Institute of Island Studies.
Published in 1931, Fauset's Folklore from Nova Scotia was the first scholarly collection of folktales in Canada and the only substantial collection of Black Canadian folklore in the 20th century. Largely overlooked in its time, the book's significance goes beyond its having been the first and only collection of its kind. By illuminating the rich folk culture of Black Nova Scotia, Fauset challenged dominant assumptions about whose stories were worthy of preservation, and he unsettled the myths that folklorists told themselves about the people and places they studied.
Dr. Johnson joined the Department of English at UPEI in July 2026. He is the author of Publishing Place: Transatlantic Modernity and Periodical Culture on Canada's East Coast (McGill-Queen's UP 2025), which was awarded the 2026 Clio Atlantic Prize for Best Book. His research spans Atlantic Canadian literature, Canadian publishing history, and Black Canadian culture in the 19th and 20th centuries.
The lecture is free, and all are welcome. For more information, contact Bren Simmers at 902-566-0386 or ispstaff@upei.ca.
For more information
550 University Avenue
Charlottetown Prince Edward Island
Canada C1A 4P3
www.upei.ca/
