Pete Seeger in His Own Words

Long an icon of American musical and political life, Pete Seeger has written eloquently in books and for magazines, activist movements, and union newsletters. Although he has never written an autobiography, his life story is nowhere more personally chronicled than in the private writings, documents, and letters stored for decades in his family barn.

In Pete Seeger in His Own Words, we hear directly from Seeger through the widest array of sources?letters, notes to himself, published articles, rough drafts, stories, and poetry?creating the most intimate picture yet available of Seeger as a musician, an activist, and a family man?in his own words and from his own perspective. From letters to his mother written when he was a 13-year-old desiring his first banjo to speculations on the future, this book covers the passions, personalities, and experiences of a lifetime of struggle?the pre-WWII labor movement, the Communist Party, Woody Guthrie, the blacklist, the Civil Rights movement, Martin Luther King, the struggle against the war in Vietnam, Bob Dylan, travels around the world, cleaning up the Hudson River, Granny D, Fidel Castro, Bill Clinton, and countless uncelebrated activists with whom Seeger has worked and sung. The portrait that emerges is not a saint, not a martyr, but a flesh-and-blood man, struggling to understand his gift, his time, and his place.

CONTENIDO:

Foreword, by David Amram
Preface, by Pete Seeger
Introduction: Pete Seeger, an Appreciation, by Rob Rosenthal and Sam Rosenthal

Part 1 - The Early Years: 1919-1947
1.- Growing Up (1919-1947)
2.- Becoming a "Folk Singer" (1935-1947)
3.- Mentors and Influences

Part 2 - Life as a "Folk Singer"
- A Framework
4.- What Is Folk Music?
5.- The Labor Movement, the Communist Party, and the Blacklist
6.- The Civil Rights Movement
7.- The Movement Againts the War in Vietnam
8.- The Environmental Movement and the Ship Clearwater
9.- Reflections on a Life in Movement

- Beyond the United States
10.- Other Struggles of the 20th Century
11.- Travels Abroad
12.- Music of Other Countries

- Issues for Performers
13.- A Philophy of Making Music
14.- Participation
15.- Commercialization, Popularization, Authenticity, and the Star System
16.- Reflections on a Life in Music
17.- Balancing Work and Family Life

Part 3 - Other Dimensions
18.- Other Writings
19.- Other Correspondence

Part 4 - Looking Back and Looking Forward
20.- Philosophical Musing and Utopian Vision

Index