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"Woody Guthrie is often mythologized as the classic American ""ramblin' man,"" a real-life Steinbeckian folk hero who fought for working-class interests and inspired Bob Dylan. Biographers and fans frame him as a foe of fascism and focus on his politically charged folk songs. What's left unexamined is how the bulk of Guthrie's work--most of which is unpublished or little known--delves into the importance of intimacy in his personal and political life. Part biography, part cultural history of the Left, Woody Guthrie offers a stunning revelation about America's quintessential folk legend, who serves as a guiding light for leftist movements today. Rejecting bodily shame and embracing the power of sexuality, he came to believe that intimacy was the linchpin for political struggle. By closely connecting to others, society could combat the customary emotional states of capitalist cultures: loneliness and isolation. Using intimacy as one's weapon, Guthrie believed we could fight fascism's seductive call."

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9781662044236

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Gustavus Stadler is a professor of English at Haverford College. A well-established scholar of 19th- and 20th-century U.S. culture and popular music, he is the author of Troubling Minds: The Cultural Politics of Genius in the U.S., 1840-1890. His writing has appeared in the Bay Guardian, SF Weekly, North Carolina's Independent Weekly, Social Text, Sounding Out!, avidly.com, and numerous other outlets. He lives in Haverford, Pennsylvania. Jeff Zinn has been acting, directing, teaching, and writing about theater for more than 30 years. His unabridged audiobook version of A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn is a best seller. His book, The Existential Actor: Life and Death, Onstage and Off (Smith and Kraus Publishing) was released in 2015.

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