Woody Guthrie, American Radical

by Will Kaufman

Woody Guthrie, American Radical reclaims the politically radical profile of America's greatest balladeer. Although he achieved a host of national honors and adorns US 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, 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.

Genres: Biography, Music, History, Nonfiction, Politics, American History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2011

Reviews

[Douglas Noakes · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting political profile of Woody Guthrie, one of the giants of American folk music whose THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND and Dust Bowl ballads are essential to any serious discussion of popular music in the mid-20th Century. This is not a formal biography per se, but one that covers his life primarily through a political lens. While this might not be the best first book for Guthrie's enthusiasts, it does a great job explaining the shifting forces in American culture that denied him the commercial success that other acolytes like Bob Dylan later enjoyed.

. The author gives us a warts-and-all look at his strengths and weaknesses as a person and an artist. One of his strengths is that he boldly and bravely spoke out for dispossessed ordinary workers and small farmers during the Great Depression.

A negative was his adherence to the Communist line, which Professor Kaufman details, for instance, in how Guthrie's songwriting in the USA's run-up to entry in World War Two went rapidly from pacifist isolationism and anti-Franklin Roosevelt radicalism to a partial embrace of US militarism after Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet Non-Agression Pact in June of 1941, all due apparently to the fortunes of the USSR.

Long before the events leading to the Second World War, Guthrie embodied a spirit of grassroots socialism that stood up for the small farmer and the factory worker of both sexes. This came to fruition after the Dust Bowl ravaged his home state and so many adjoining regions already struggling in the Great Depression.

Pre World War II America was his most productive time; in Los Angeles and New York he hosted and appeared on radio shows, recorded dozens of his songs with Alan Lomax, and enjoyed success with The Almanacs, a group that sometimes included Pete Seeger.

That success peaked in 1946, a year after the war ended. And then a desire for conformity returned and the dream of a fairer racial and less class-bound society was postponed until the 1960s. Left radicalism was stymied by anti-Red hysteria and the quick return of a free-marker status after the McCarthy Era, driving most of its adherents, including Guthrie, into the wilderness in Red Channels blacklisting and HUAC show trials.

Kaufman guides us through how that happened and how Guthrie was a progenitor of 1950-60s folk commercialism and a half-forgotten figure, barred from performing on television shows and mainstream record studios by both a debilitating illness (Huntington's disease) and a blacklist against fellow-traveling leftists that would likely have precluded his taking personal advantage of the "folk scare" even if he had been healthy.

It is a sad but compelling story, and one where Guthrie emerges as a complex figure, as so many great talents are: flawed in aspects of his personal life, perhaps, but also brave and unbowed in the face of shifting political tides. His is a story that is worth knowing.

[Andrew McKinley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s on me for not entirely enjoying a biography about someone/something I wasn’t super invested in but I will say - not a bad read! Picked this up on a whim in a thrift store a while back and learned a lot about the history of folk songs, the Dust Bowl and Guthrie’s tumultuous life. I don’t think I’d recommend it unless you’re interested in the material or else you’ll start to doze off like I did. I enjoy a blind read every now and again but with this especially, I think the writing really works if you’re familiar with some aspects of Guthrie’s work and life and not just This Land is Your Land, like me. At ~200 pages, it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome and I learned a couple things I didn’t know before, which is great for a biography! You can just tell the author is a diehard Guthrie-head though and I’m glad he got to write a book about something he is so passionate about.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at Guthrie's radical journey and music from an entirely objective perspective. In some respects, and decades on, we might regard Guthrie as dogmatic, intolerant, and uncompromising in word and song. But as Kaufman demonstrates there was just cause then. And there is just cause now.

[Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally finished this book!
For such an interesting topic, this was definitely pretty dry in parts and I had a hard time finding myself actually wanting to pick it up and read it. It got a lot better towards the last two or three chapters. I'm a fan of Woody Guthrie and this was a good book for finding out more about his different activist roles, but don't expect this to be about Woody himself. They gloss over a lot of personal facts in the process, which is fine but just a warning in case you thought this was a little more thorough. I liked reading about my other favorite singers in here such as Pete Seeger, The Weavers, name drops of Bob Dylan (although he doesn't look too good in his part) and Joan Baez. The historical parts were interesting too even if it wasn't necessarily written as such. I also have a hard time reading most non-fiction books. This was an effort to get myself into more of them. I probably wouldn't recommend if you're not a fan or at least familiar with Woody or Pete Seeger's works, but it could be the thing that turns you on to them. I also liked to stop from time to time and look up some of the songs, it helps put things into better context for me.

[Michel]

This land is your land...
Time for the people to win America back from corporate stranglehold. Not gonna be easy with Scotus and God on their side.

[Mary Dugan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became interested in Woody Guthrie via a couple of books and a PBS doc about the Dust Bowl, and then the Ken Burns series on Country Music. I did not read this whole book word for word. I was sad to learn he died of Huntington's, a horrible disease. As a product of his time, some of his early deeds and attitudes are cringe-worthy, but he was certainly complicated and tried to be the best person and American he could. He grew & changed and put himself in harm's way to stand up to racial terrorism. ALL the verses of his most famous song (This land is your land) should be heard by everyone.

[Steve Gillway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I saw the author in Somerset give a 2 hour words and music presentation of some of the ideas here. He is an engaging presenter and this is translated into his written work. He sets out many of the historical changes or contradictions in the development of Woody as a political folk performer. In the flesh, he spends longer on the background and significance of the Dustbowl. Supporting his arguments with lyrics and sources, Kaufman presents an academic insight of the great man and his times without being reverential.

[Kelton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suffers a bit from academic voice but an excellent contextualized history

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Woody would have been 100 back in July had he not been felled by a hereditary disease in the mid-60s. Will Kaufman has made it his life's work to study and evaluate this great radical's life and influence. What this volume does is concentrate on Woody's active side as well as his music, from his championing of America's rural and urban poor, his use of radio and non-mainstream newspapers to promote the union cause and his war service to fight Fascism.

It's in-depth, analytical and based on dogged research which has cast new light on the bizarre and often contradictory life story of Guthrie. Kaufman does not shy away from informing us of some of Woody's less-endearing characteristics and behaviours.

It does, however, reclaim Guthrie for the radical side of US politics from his being sanitised as merely a balladeer or folk singer. His actions do often speak as loud as his fine, rabble-rousing words.

The author is also a fine musician in his own right and a review of his Hard Times and Hard Travellin’ – The Songs of Woody Guthrie tour is here
http://aberdeenvoice.com/2011/11/capi...

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a critical, unflinching biography of the legendary radical folksinger, Woody Guthrie. It is well researched and thorough, delving into all aspects of Woody's career and his evolving political consciousness. It was surprising to me that Oklahoma has a tradition of agrarian radicalism. So much of labor history is little known in this country and this book is important in filling in some of those gaps in knowledge. Woody's career and his life were cut short by the tragedy of Huntingdon's disease which he inherited from his mother. I was disappointed that Woody's personal life was not covered in more detail.

[Jack Waters · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Will Kaufman deftly captures the ‘Dust Bowl Troubadour’ Woody Guthrie as the influential political radical and balladeer who enlivened an international protest song movement. Bob Dylan is my favorite musician, yet who would he be without Woody? The book showcases a great variety--letters, song lyrics, essays, personal reflections, and other manuscripts from the archive. Fans of Woody will find plenty to delve into, and it’s certainly a better read that Woody’s recently released novel.

[G · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was curious about the personal side of this folk musician and perhaps picked the wrong book for that. The focus in Kaufman's book is Guthrie's political activism. Guthrie seemed uncertain at times where his convictions lay but then aren't we all a work in progress...

[Bobbi]

I got quite a ways into this book before giving up. I've read a couple of biographies of Woody Guthrie, but that isn't what this book is all about. It's his philosophy and how it's expressed in his songs. Which I'm sure is great for the right person, but not for me right now.

[sillypunk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was excellent! Everyone read it: https://blogendorff.ghost.io/book-rev...

[Preston · Rating 4 out of 5]

inspiring