ARCHIVES NEWSLETTER
Fall / Winter 2003

Every once in a while we receive an e-mail or letter at the Woody Guthrie Archives that not only underlines the importance of what we do (which is to take care of and preserve Woody Guthrie's work) but simply makes us feel good. To this effect, I'd like to share with you Billy Bond's letter, dated July 29, 2003:

"For reasons I don't quite understand -- though it's connected to getting a car with a CD player in it -- I've immersed myself in Woody's recordings. I've read both Joel Klein's biography and BOUND FOR GLORY a couple of times, and am nearing the end of PASTURES OF PLENTY. When I was a kid and crazy about The Kingston Trio and other folk groups of the time (late 50s, early 60s), I noticed a lot of their best songs were credited to a 'W. Guthrie.' I concluded that he must have been some great song writer whose period was back around the 1900s. I was dumbfounded when I learned that the songs date from the 1940s (as do I), and that Woody, though ill, was still alive.

I have such a welter of feelings of respect, awe, amusement and exasperation for the man that it's going to take me forever to sort them out. But I'll gladly do so. Again, thank you for responding. I do have the Moe Asch recordings, the conversation/songs set from the Library of Congress, the Sacco-Vanzetti album, the Columbia River album (I'm from Oregon originally, so that was personally important to me), one of the children's albums, and lots of other Guthrie CDs. I just want more more more. I realize there really ISN'T a great deal more, but we must have our dreams.

Please give my best to all those who work at the Archive/Foundations; they're doing the work of angels."

Jorge Arévalo
Head Archivist

Archives Projects
Guthrie biographer Ed Cray recently finished his manuscript for Ramblin' Man, the first major biography of Woody Guthrie in more than twenty years. Due to be published by W.W. Norton & Co., in February 2004, Ramblin' Man presents a fresh perspective on Guthrie and contains a lot of new information, photographs and images. We look forward to its publication and expect that Woody fans everywhere will be satisfied with the results.

In the area of musical works there are new recordings of Woody Guthrie songs from the Archives, including Anti-Flag's "Post-War Breakout" (A-F Records, forthcoming) and Boston's own Dropkick Murphys' rendition of "Gonna Be a Blackout Tonight" from their recent Blackout release (Hellcat Records, 80446-2, 2003). It's not hard to imagine what song we had playing in our heads when the power went out in NYC! It is nonetheless very exciting for us to see how new generations of artists and audiences are turning to Woody for inspiration, creating new music through different and often unexpected genres and styles!

In other media, Alan Handel Productions, a Canadian production company, finished their project, "Singing in the Shadow: Children of Rock Royalty." This documentary features children of rock stars including Ozzy Osbourne, Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon and James Taylor, David Crosby, and Woody Guthrie. Arlo Guthrie talks about his music, family, and singing Woody's songs. Similarly, Sarah Lee and Abe Guthrie talk about singing and performing Woody's and Arlo's songs with the family. Woody perhaps would have been proud to hear his children and grandchildren express their feelings about being part of his musical ancestry.

Stephen Gammond of Gammond and Associates (United Kingdom) is in the late stages of his production, "It Must Be Broke Down and Said: The Woody Guthrie Story." For this full length documentary on Woody Guthrie, Gammond has done a lot of "hard travelin'" around the US, following Woody's history and capturing images of places that Woody lived at during different points in his life. The documentary also includes rich and vivid oral histories by some of the key players in Woody's life, artists who have been influenced by Woody, and scholars who have much to say about Woody's contributions. The interweaving of these oral histories provides multiple perspectives of Woody's complex life and work. We really look forward to seeing the final version!

Recent Researchers and Visitors to the Archives
Jim Pollard continues to research Woody's experience with Huntington's Disease. Working with HD patients and their families, Jim hopes he can put together valuable information on HD from the patients' perspective based on Woody's writings. Jim has helped us to recognize the significance of the material, as it is rare for HD patients to write so much about their environment, condition, outlook on life and more. Woody, of course, was as prolific as ever during the period of his life that he suffered from HD. Jim is reading though all of what Woody left behind and working towards helping others to understand this disorder. It's been a pleasure having Jim around, and it's been a great learning experience for us as we watch his wheels spin and discuss ideas with him!

Sarah Burger, a senior at Cornell University, spent some time with us this summer as a song transcription intern. We were very lucky to have Sarah work with us. She completed over 100 song lyric transcriptions, which is a good step forward for our copyright and song documentation projects!

Matt King investigated Woody's experience in Pampa, Texas for a possible book proposal that engages concepts of travel and tourism.

Alain Dister, from the Museum of Music in France paid us a visit, looking at Woody Guthrie material that might be appropriate for a potential Woody Guthrie exhibition in Paris.

Steve Brower of Print magazine continues his work with Nora Guthrie on a book of artwork by Woody Guthrie. This will be the first book to focus on Woody Guthrie as a visual artist.

Jeff Morgen, PhD student at Stanford University continues his research on Woody Guthrie. Jeff's dissertation looks at the development of Woody Guthrie's "Okie identity," how it developed, and how Woody himself cultivated this identity.

Kay Ritchie, a producer from the BBC Scotland, was here researching material for a special Woody Guthrie radio program that was broadcast in the UK. She was able to find some "smashing" material in the Archives for her piece in a notebook Woody wrote when he was in Glasgow while with the Merchant Marines. Kay's piece, "Intimately Woody" discussed the legacy he left behind and the contemporary artists who credit Woody as an influence on their songwriting and music. The radio broadcast also included interviews with Nora Guthrie and some of the musicians she is working with on an upcoming project.

Special Accessions
This past season we have received some terrific gifts. Here are just a few of the items we recently accessioned into the collection:

Victor Wolfenstein deserves a special thank you for the wonderful collection of material he gathered on the life and work of Woody Guthrie. This material includes cassette tapes of interviews Mr. Wolfenstein conducted with friends and family members of Woody Guthrie, audio reels of Woody Guthrie songs, audio reels of Jeff Guthrie, Aileen Guthrie, and Cluster Bates (circa 1942); a copy of Guthrie's manuscript titled "House of Earth," one Sing Out! magazine (1967/68), and a copy of a 1927 Okfuskee County newspaper.

Barry Brooks donated CD copies of Woody Guthrie's 1940s radio programs.

Stuart Lutz donated digital images of pages from Woody's recently auctioned personal copy of "Bartlett's Forty Thousand Quotations." This unique item contains Woody's annotations, commentary and his own variations on famous quotes.

We also received a copy of "Intimately Woody," a BBC program produced by Kay Ritchie and aired in the United Kingdom this past July.

In addition, we have accessioned and catalogued a collection of cassette tapes donated by The Richmond Organization (TRO). These rare and unique home recordings of Woody Guthrie were made in the early 1950s and contain rare songs, strummings, and spoken word.

Most of our collection material is available for viewing and listening in the Archives. However, a few items may be restricted due to the either the item's conditions or at the donor's request. If you have questions about specific collections or items, please contact the archivists.

Visiting the Archives
Encouraged by the range of scholarship, creativity, and inspiration that the Woody Guthrie Collection offers, the Archives welcomes researchers, scholars, artists, musicians, publishers, filmmakers, and those pursuing interests related to the life, works, and times of Woody Guthrie. The Archives is open by appointment only and our hours of operation are Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10 am to 6 pm. We encourage visitors to look at the online Collection Finding Aids on our web site before visiting the archives. Please contact the Archivists to schedule appointments.

Internship Opportunities
We are a small, but very busy office. If you are interested in internship or volunteer opportunities at the Woody Guthrie Archives, please submit a resume, a brief proposal of the type of work you are interested in doing, and a list of three references.

Other tasks might include song transcription, answering general reference calls, providing administrative support, and helping out with various archives projects. Ideal candidates will have a background in archival or library science, museum studies, music history, or related area. An interest in, and special knowledge of, Woody Guthrie and folk music is a plus, as are A/V skills.

Applications and inquiries should be sent to:
Archivist
Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives
250 West 57th St.
Suite 1218
New York, NY 10107