Professor of Folklore and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and former Co-Director of the Folklore Program, James P. Leary has focused his research on the folklore of the Upper Midwest's diverse peoples, with particular emphases on musical and narrative performances, on pluralism and creolization, and on public folklore. He serves as a records custodian for some of the materials in the Public Folk Arts and Folklore Projects of the Upper Midwest.