In 1996 I had a summer job guiding kids on canoe trips down the Partridge River to James Bay. One of my charges, a girl of about 15, was the world’s number one Stan Rogers fan. Had been since she popped out of the womb, as far as I could tell. She knew all the words, all the stories, and enough of the chords to entertain us at night with a few tunes. Her rendition of “Barrett’s” could even keep the blackflies at bay!

—Robert Olajos