Pastures of Plenty: A Self-Portrait - Softcover

This collection of stories, poems, songs, letters, diary entries, essays, newspaper articles, photographs and drawings--most of which have not been published before--gives new insight into the life and character of the beloved folk singer Woody Guthrie (1912-1967). Culling material from Leventhal's voluminous files of Guthrie memorabilia, Marsh ( Born to Run ) and Leventhal, who was Guthrie's manager, present a chronologically arranged selection of works in which Guthrie expresses his thoughts about himself, his life and his political beliefs--from his early days in Oklahoma to 1954, when Huntington's chorea left him almost completely incapacitated. The writings--free-form, humorous, eccentric and intensely individualistic--encompass all aspects of Guthrie's personality and reveal much about what he was striving to achieve with his social activism and often unconventional behavior. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Best known for his songs, Guthrie was an equally prolific writer of letters and notebooks, an avid scribbler and doodler on calendars, napkins, and paper scraps. Chronicling the dustbowl migrations of the 1930s, the labor struggles of the 1940s, and the Red Scare politics of the 1950s, his letters, essays, songs, random jottings, and drawings reveal a man struggling to understand why the working men and women who contribute the most are respected the least. This collection draws on an archive of innumerable file cabinets, boxes, and notebooks collected by his wife Marjorie after his death. Guthrie's manager, Leventhal, and music writer Marsh assembled the collection and provide occasional commentary. Few additional words are needed. Guthrie's irrepressible writings stand on their own.
- Tim LaBorie, St. Joseph's Univ., Philadelphia
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.