Iona Opie
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Iona Opie (b. 1923) is a world-renowned researcher and writer on European folklore and children's street culture. She worked closely with her husband Peter Opie (1918-1982), whom she met and married during World War II, until his death.
Iona Opie is a world authority on children's rhymes, street & playground games and the Mother Goose tradition. Together with her husband she conducted primary fieldwork, as well as library research, interviewing thousands of children. The couple were also noted anthologists.
The Opies' collection is the richest library of children's books and ephemera and covers the 16th to 20th century. It was begun in 1944, amounting in the end to 20,000 pieces. It was donated to the Bodleian Library in 1988, after a two-year public appeal raised the £500,000 cost. The Opies' book collection is increasingly being transferred to microfiche. The Opies' large collection of historic toys and games is still owned by Iona Opie.
[edit] See also
[edit] Further reading
- The People in the Playground (1993).
- The Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (1959).
- Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes (1952, 1998).
[edit] Critical writing
- The Opie Collection (Tokyo, 1992).
- Gillian Avery & Julia Briggs. Children and their books: a celebration of the work of Iona and Peter Opie (1989, The Open University Press).
