WOODY GUTHRIE: SONGS AND ART ⋅ WORDS AND WISDOM

WOODY GUTHRIE: SONGS AND ART ⋅ WORDS AND WISDOM
ROBERT SANTELLI (foreword by Nora Guthrie)
Chronicle Books
$40.00 hardcover, available now

Rating: 4.5* of five

The Publisher Says: The timely, passionate, and humanely political work of America's greatest folk singer and songwriter is presented through his own words and art—curated by Woody's daughter—in this essential self-portrait, including never-before published lyrics and personal writing, and testimony from contemporary writers and musicians on his powerful relevance today.

Winner of the Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Book Award for Outstanding Pop Music Publication

Woody Guthrie and his passionate social politics are as crucial today as they have ever been. A powerful voice for justice, and the author of more than 3,000 songs (including "This Land is Your Land"), he was also a poet, painter, illustrator, novelist, journal keeper, and profuse letter writer. Curated by his daughter Nora and award-winning music historian Robert Santelli, this fresh, intimate, and beautifully designed book thematically reveals Woody's story through his own personal writings, lyrics, and artwork, urgently bringing his voice to life.

Featuring never-before-published lyrics to some of his greatest songs, personal diary entries, doodles, quips and jokes, and piercing insights on his politics and justice, this is an undeniable and important celebration of Woody's vibrant life's work. Created to be enjoyed by all – those interested in folk music or those interested in Woody's thoughts on Life in all its aspects, from Politics and Spirituality, to Love and Family – this book reflects Bob Dylan's thoughts on Woody Guthrie; "You can listen to his songs and learn how to live."

ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL SONGWRITERS IN AMERICAN MUSIC HISTORY: Woody Guthrie has had a profound impact on American musicians, writers, politicians (and the everyman who found solace and kinship in Guthrie's writings and political beliefs), who have been shaped by his music and activism—namely the great founding father of songwriting himself, Bob Dylan, for whom he was a mentor. Others who have named Guthrie as a major influence include Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, John Mellencamp, Billy Bragg, Joe Strummer, and Jerry Garcia, just to name a few.

RARE ARCHIVAL MATERIAL: This is Woody's life told primarily in his own words, with never-before published handwritten lyrics, artwork, journals, and much more.

WORDS OF WISDOM RELEVANT TODAY: Woody Guthrie's lyrics and writings carry pointed relevance to our world today—he wrote powerfully about economic inequality, immigration reform, fascism, war, corruption from capitalism gone wild, patriotism, and environmentalism—not to mention spirituality of all kinds, love, and family.

EXCLUSIVE CONTRIBUTORS: Includes new writing about Woody and his music by Chuck D., Ani DiFranco, Douglas Brinkley, Jeff Daniels, Arlo Guthrie, and Rosanne Cash.

Perfect for:

Music lovers

Musicians and artists

Political activists and historians

Fans of Americana

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: Famously a leftist, and a lifelong supporter of the dignity of the average working person, Woody Guthrie sang his beliefs into our ears. Everyone my age, regardless of your parents' politics, grew up with his music. Unless you ran away and hid, you got to know what it was he stood for, and what price he paid for standing up to a world even then being retaken by the least and the lowest after the giant reorganization of the New Deal.

Bright and beautiful.

The thrust of this book couldn't be more important than it is today: A reminder that a public personality, a musician no less, stood up against the craptastic capitalist excesses that have bedeviled the US since forever, wrote about it, never once shut up in pursuit of bringing his beliefs out into the public mind, no matter what the consequences.

A role model for today, for me, for so many younger and such few as are older than me.

We need many more Woody Guthrie-adjacent celebritries in today's world.

Absolutely great #Booksgiving gift for your sad, disheartened old uncle, your frustrated college student who follows David Hogg of the Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, or your ownself, as you contend with the knowledge that forty percent of the world seems to be made up of unrecalcitrant jackasses.