Biography: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical' 2011

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,Will Kaufman
Date: 10 Mar 11 - 10:06 AM

My pleasure, Phil - many thanks! And Derek, of course I remember our session at Whitby! I trust you're well! Not to worry about the review copy - Illinois Univ Press have you on their list for sure - I just saw their list yesterday. I think the review copies for European journals will be sent out over the next few weeks, since there's a 2-month lag between US and UK publication.

All the best,

Will

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Uncle Phil
Date: 10 Mar 11 - 09:29 AM

Hi, Will. I just ordered your book from Amazon and am looking forward to reading it. Thanks for alerting us here that it is coming out.
- Phil

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,Derek Schofield
Date: 10 Mar 11 - 06:48 AM

Will - have just requested a review copy for English Dance & Song. Perhaps you could put in a good word please. You may remember I interviewed you at Whitby Folk Week last year.
Derek

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,John from "Elsie`s Band"
Date: 10 Mar 11 - 05:20 AM

A couple of us went to see "WOODY SEZ" at the Arts Theatre in London yesterday and I would recommend it to everyone interested in the man and his music. It is a potted life story, narrated and dramatized and liberally laced with his songs. Excellent musicianship, very listenable singing and a sympathetic approach to the subject matter.

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 09 Mar 11 - 01:29 PM

Alan Lomax, Assistant in Charge at Amazon.com (U.S.) for hardcover edition, as well as Kindle.

(Used copies are available for about $70, and new ones at $30 -- huh?!?)

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 09 Mar 11 - 09:04 AM

Thanks for the tip. I knew the book was in the pipeline, but didn't know it had been published yet.

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,Will Kaufman
Date: 09 Mar 11 - 06:34 AM

Hi Fred - You might also want to have a look at my friend Ron Cohen's latest book, an edited collection: "Alan Lomax, Assistant in Charge: The Library of Congress Letters, 1935-1945". Here's a link to the Amazon page: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Alan-Lomax-Assistant-Charge-1935-1945/dp/B004L62HZ0

Best,

Will

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 09 Mar 11 - 06:15 AM

Hi Will,

I know what you mean. Cray and Klein both wrote excellent books, and essential reading for Woodynuts everywhere. But with a topic that size something's got to give.

BTW. I'm reading John Swzed's biography of Alan Lomax at the moment. Terrific book and it covers the ground extremely well. But given all that Lomax acheived in his eighty odd years, it has no option but to roar along like the clappers. There's enough material for a book on Lomax's work in Britain alone, plus one on the Spanish trip, plus another on the Italian trip, plus his work in prison farms, plus............

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,Will Kaufman
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 06:49 PM

Many thanks, Joe and Becky - I think Ed Cray and Joe Klein had committed themselves to giving a complete cradle-to-grave biography, and they did it very well. But when you make that decision - to write a whole-life biography - then it's inevitable that certain threads will have to be squeezed to the minimum because you can't really do justice to every aspect of a subject's life. So that 's where folks like me come in, simply focusing on a particular thread (in this case, the political), and squeezing the rest of it to the margins. I'm sure there's room for 10 or 20 more biographies of Woody Guthrie, his life was so complex!

Subject: RE: Book: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Joe Offer
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 04:45 PM

I'm looking forward to reading your book, Will. It was wise to have it published in the Music in American Life series from the University of Illinois Press. Every book in that series is a gem, and I've been trying to get my hands on most of them.

The Cray and Klein biographies seem to downplay the political side of Woody Guthrie. It will be interesting to see a political perspective.

Good luck with your book, Will.

-Joe Offer-

Subject: RE: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Desert Dancer
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 04:33 PM

clicky for the book at University of Illinois Press. (The link given above redirects to this address.)

I look forward to seeing it.

~ Becky in Long Beach

Subject: RE: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,Will Kaufman
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 01:51 PM

Sorry, Fred, I won't have any copies of the book by the time I play at the Ship and Mitre at the end of March. The publishers say that the books won't reach the UK until about eight weeks after the US publication.

Subject: RE: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 08:04 AM

That's why I'm so keen to get my hands on this book. Apart from the "wealth of previously unseen archival materials", which even Ed Cray presumably couldn't access, it seems to me that it will fill in an important detail which other biographies have merely touched on; the political ideologist who lay behind the image of the down home dust bowler.

Subject: RE: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Charley Noble
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 07:44 AM

Here's what the publisher says from the above link:

Unearthing the legendary folkie's deep roots in radical politics

Woody Guthrie, American Radical reclaims the politically radical profile of America's greatest balladeer. Although he achieved a host of national honors and adorns U.S. postage stamps, and although his song "This Land Is Your Land" is often considered the nation's second national anthem, Woody Guthrie committed his life to the radical struggle.

Will Kaufman traces Guthrie's political awakening and activism throughout the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Korean War, the Civil Rights struggle, and the poison of McCarthyism. He examines Guthrie's role in the development of a workers' culture in the context of radical activism spearheaded by the Communist Party of the USA, the Popular Front, and the Congress of Industrial Organizations. Kaufman also establishes Guthrie's significance in the perpetuation of cultural front objectives into the era of the "New Left" and beyond, particularly through his influence on the American and international protest song movement.

Utilizing a wealth of previously unseen archival materials such as letters, song lyrics, essays, personal reflections, photos, and other manuscripts, Woody Guthrie, American Radical introduces a heretofore unknown Woody Guthrie: the canny political strategist, fitful thinker, and cultural front activist practically buried in the general public's romantic celebration of the "Dust Bowl Troubadour."

A portion of the royalties from the sales of this book will be donated to the Woody Guthrie Foundation.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: Fred McCormick
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 07:35 AM

Hi Will,

According to Amazon UK it won't be available in Britain until May 25th, but then it will be at the amazingly cheap price of £14.99 in h/b. If you have any copies with you for that price, when you do the Ship and Mitre, Liverpool at the end of March, I'll gladly buy one.

Subject: 'Woody Guthrie, American Radical'
From: GUEST,Will Kaufman
Date: 08 Mar 11 - 06:47 AM

Hi - just sending out notice that my biography, "Woody Guthrie, American Radical" has just been published by the University of Illinois Press. Here's a link to the publisher's description:
http://www.go.illinois.edu/s11kaufman. The book is also available on Amazon.