About this Event
Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941, edited by historians Darryl Holter and William Deverell, argues that the famed folk singer’s brief residence in Los Angeles in the later years of the Great Depression forever changed his music, his politics, and his legacy. Those changes became the basis of his incredible influence on the world’s music.
Bob Dylan said of Guthrie “The songs themselves, his repertoire, were really beyond category. They had the infinite sweep of humanity in them. . . . Woody Guthrie tore everything in his path to pieces. To me [his music] was an epiphany.” Guthrie became a role model for Bruce Springsteen, who has extolled Guthrie’s “fatalism tempered by practical idealism” and his conviction that “speaking truth to power was not futile.” Guthrie taught today’s musical legends to cry out and be heard—his impact makes him more than a legend. He is musical history.
Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941 began by way of a 2012 conference and concert celebrating the centennial of Woodrow Wilson Guthrie’s birth. Put on by the University of Southern California in close cooperation with the GRAMMY Museum, the conference featured academic papers exploring Guthrie’s time in L.A. and concluded with a concert which featured musicians, and Guthrie fans, including Steven Stills, Jackson Browne, Noel Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul, and Mary), and Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine).
The book is the product of many years’ work and close cooperation with members of Woody Guthrie’s family and estate. Lyrics Guthrie wrote about Los Angeles, many of which he never set to music, are published here for the first time. The book also features more than a dozen of Guthrie’s brilliant cartoons—his quickly drawn satires on politics, the wealthy, and the future of Los Angeles.
William Deverell is professor of history and director of the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West at the University of Southern California. He is the author of numerous studies of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century American West, including Whitewashed Adobe: The Rise of Los Angeles and the Remaking of Its Mexican Past.
Join us at LA's historic Union Station for Rare Books LA, featuring antiquarian books, maps, photography and more!
Presenting the finest antiquarian booksellers, ephemera, and map dealers from all over the world, this exciting event takes place October 7-8, 2023, in the historic Ticket Concourse at Los Angeles' Union Station. Join our Metro partners, and hop onboard Metrolink, Metro Rail or Amtrak for this transit-friendly book fair. Union Station also offers ample parking starting at $8.
Please visit our website for a list of exhibitors.
Rare Books Los Angeles - Union Station
October -7-8, 2023
Saturday, October 7 - 10am – 6pm
Sunday, October 8 - 11am – 4pm
Use code: Angel to reveal hidden tickets. Limit two per person.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rare-books-la-union-station-tickets-631794001867?aff=AngelCity
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Los Angeles Union Station, 800 North Alameda Street, Los Angeles, United States
USD 0.00