A great many of us ‘met’ Iona first through the numerous books she published, both jointly with Peter, and on her own part. They were a highly readable and vivid reminder of our own personal childhoods, as well as works of meticulous scholarship and new insights.
These pioneering works cover nursery rhymes, children’s literature, and the cultural traditions of childhood, especially those of play. They had a huge sphere of influence, inspiring and informing practitioners such as teachers, playworkers, architects and librarians, academics of many disciplines, and general audiences.
Iona came to the University of Sheffield in 1998 as guest of honour at The State of Play conference, organised by the National Centre for English Cultural Tradition. She had just published the last of the joint books, Children’s Games with Things, and was at the end of a career lasting over 50 years as a researcher into the worlds of young people. No wonder her talk was entitled ‘A Lifetime in the Playground’. (Click here to hear a recording or to read the transcript.)
Iona Opie in 1997 © Norman McBeath
Iona made a distinctive contribution to the work of ‘the Opies’, even as she juggled being a wife and a mother, maintaining her integrity throughout. She was also a correspondent par excellence. Her letters evidence the generous support which she extended to fellow researchers, her enthusiasm for the fine detail, and her fundamental humanity.
Iona leaves the immense legacy of her work and the inspiration of her life.
The ‘Playing the Archive’ project research team are honoured to be working on the Opie archival collection. We look forward to understanding more about the Opies’ work and building on the field that Iona and Peter did so much to establish.
Obituaries
The Guardian, 25 October 2017 https://www.theguardian.com/books/2017/oct/25/iona-opie-obituary
The Telegraph, 26 October 2017 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2017/10/26/iona-opie-investigated-lore-language-games-schoolchildren-obituary/
The Times, 27 October 2017 https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/iona-opie-obituary-r3mn9qgtq
The Independent, 29 October 2017 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/iona-opie-amateur-scholar-behind-the-oxford-dictionary-of-nursery-rhymes-a8021231.html
The New York Times, 30 October 2017 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/iona-opie-amateur-scholar-behind-the-oxford-dictionary-of-nursery-rhymes-a8021231.html
The Wall Street Journal, 3 November 2017 https://www.wsj.com/articles/iona-opie-devoted-her-life-to-exploring-childrens-games-and-rhymes-1509719401
The Washington Post, 4 November 2017 https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/iona-opie-scholarly-explorer-of-the-lore-and-customs-of-childhood-dies-at-94/2017/11/04/29373164-c173-11e7-959c-fe2b598d8c00_story.html?utm_term=.82f754169168
Select Bibliography
Bishop, J. ‘The Lives and Legacies of Iona and Peter Opie’, International Journal of Play, 3 (2014), 205–23.
Boyes, G. 1995. ‘The Legacy of the Work of Iona and Peter Opie: The Lore and Language of Today’s Children’, In Rhyme, Reason and Writing. Ed. by Roger Beard. London: Hodder and Stoughton, pp. 131-46.
Jopson, L., A. Burn, and J. Robinson. 2014. The Opie Recordings: What’s Left to be Heard? In Children’s Games in the New Media Age: Childlore, Media and the Playground. Ed. by Andrew Burn and Chris Richards. Farnham: Ashgate.
Playing the Archive 