Woody Guthrie, Songs and Art * Words and Wisdom

332 pages of inspiration, joy and fascinating tales of a true American hero.

Being a red diaper baby, I was raised on folks songs — from lullabies to long car trips, we sang them all the time. When I got a little older, I learned that a remarkable number of these songs were all written by one man: Woody Guthrie. I thought I appreciated Guthrie’s legacy, but I was only scratching the surface.

Woody Guthrie, Songs and Art + Words and Wisdom is a new title from Chronicle Books, collecting 332 pages’ worth of reproductions of Guthrie’s art, songs and journals, as well as essays by notables who were influenced by Guthrie, as well as two of his kids: Arlo and Nora Guthrie.

https://store.woodyguthrie.org/products/woody-guthrie-songs-and-art-words-and-wisdom

Nora Guthrie worked with Robert Santelli, who cofounded the Woody Guthrie Center with her, to uncover and organize a representative — and thrilling — sample of Guthrie’s enormous archives. I do mean enormous. I knew Guthrie as a songwriter and musician, but I had no idea just how many songs he wrote.