Release Date: March 22, 2011
Edited by John S. Partington
‘Making excellent use of material from the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archives in New York, this book
examines Woody’s image, his songwriting, his politics and his friendships. In the process, a few myths are
questioned and some new dimensions of his life and work are revealed. The result is a welcome portrait
of Woody as a twentieth century figure with much to offer to the twenty-first. The book serves as an excellent
introduction to Guthrie’s work as well as providing unexpected perspectives even for those of us who
thought we knew all about him.’ – Dave Laing, Institute of Popular Music, University of Liverpool, UK
Contents:
-Preface- John S. Partington
-Foreword- Jorge Arévalo
Mateus
Part I - ‘All You Can Write Is What You See’: Woody Guthrie’s
Songs as Diagnosis and Cure: ‘Pastures of Plenty’
-Woody Guthrie
and the New Deal- Richard Nate
-‘There’s a better world a-coming’- John S. Partington
-Woody Guthrie and
the cultural front- Will Kaufman
-Playing legend maker: Woody
Guthrie’s ‘Jackhammer John’- Mark Allan Jackson
-‘Words to shoot
back at you’: Woody Guthrie’s ‘war’ against German Fascism- Martin Butler
Part II - Creating an Icon: The (Self-)Imaging of Woody
Guthrie
-‘Always on the go’: the figure of the hobo in the songs
and writings of Woody Guthrie- Martin Butler
-‘Hard travelin’:
constructing Woody Guthrie’s dust bowl legacy- Jeff Morgan
-Woody Guthrie, aka ‘the guy who wrote This Land is Your Land’-
Frank Erik Pointner
Part III - Partnering and Siring: Woody Guthrie in
Comparative Perspective
-Will Geer and Woody Guthrie: a folk music
friendship- Ronald D. Cohen
-The performer and the promoter-
Ed Cray
-Good man, honest man: Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and the
role of the folk outlaw- D.A. Carpenter
Ashgate. Hardcover. 216 pgs.
