WOODY SEZ: WOODY GUTHRIE IN THE PEOPLE’S WORLD NEWSPAPER By MATTHEW DOWER BLAKE A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2006 Copyright 2006 by Matthew Dower Blake TABLE OF CONTENTS page LIST OF TABLES...............................................................................................................v ABSTRACT....................................................................................................................... vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................1 Three Inquiries..............................................................................................................2 Literature Review .........................................................................................................4 Statement of Primary Sources ....................................................................................10 Methodology...............................................................................................................12 Structure of Dissertation.............................................................................................17 Notes...........................................................................................................................18 2 DUST BOWL .............................................................................................................20 Before the Dust Bowl .................................................................................................21 The Dust Bowl............................................................................................................22 Woody Guthrie in the Dust Bowl ...............................................................................23 Guthrie’s Dust Bowl in the People’s World...............................................................25 Notes...........................................................................................................................37 3 LANGUAGE ..............................................................................................................41 Folk Literature ............................................................................................................42 Guthrie's Phrases.........................................................................................................45 Guthrie's Spelling .......................................................................................................46 Beyond the Newspaper...............................................................................................61 Notes...........................................................................................................................64 4 CALIFORNIA ............................................................................................................67 People’s World ...........................................................................................................68 Guthrie and Prominent California Leftists .................................................................70 Standard of Living ......................................................................................................77 Guthrie as Policy Advocate ........................................................................................82 iii Notes...........................................................................................................................87 5 WAR...........................................................................................................................91 The Buildup to World War.........................................................................................92 Guthrie and the European Conflict.............................................................................94 Guthrie and the Pacific Conflict .................................................................................96 Economic Considerations and War ............................................................................99 Guthrie’s Anti-War Message....................................................................................101 Notes.........................................................................................................................103 6 NEW YORK.............................................................................................................105 Wall Street ................................................................................................................107 Physical Disorientation.............................................................................................110 Music in New York ..................................................................................................112 Washington...............................................................................................................114 Notes.........................................................................................................................116 7 CONCLUSION.........................................................................................................119 Relationship with Audience......................................................................................121 Guthrie’s Media Criticism ........................................................................................123 Guthrie as Adman.....................................................................................................126 Future Research ........................................................................................................129 Notes.........................................................................................................................132 APPENDIX PRIMARY SOURCES...........................................................................135 LIST OF REFERENCES.................................................................................................137 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ...........................................................................................143 iv LIST OF TABLES Table page 3-1 Phrasings in Guthrie's People’s World column........................................................46 3-1 Wells’ lexical sets.....................................................................................................49 3-2 Vowel substitution....................................................................................................51 3-3 Consonant substitution .............................................................................................53 3-4 Subtraction of letters................................................................................................54 3-5 Addition of letters.....................................................................................................55 3-6 Transposition of letters.............................................................................................56 3-7 Double letters in misspellings ..................................................................................57 3-8 Examples of misspellings in personal correspondence and the World ....................62 v Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy WOODY SEZ: WOODY GUTHRIE IN THE PEOPLE’S WORLD NEWSPAPER By Matthew Dower Blake August 2006 Chair: William McKeen Major Department: Journalism and Communications This study evaluates the newspaper writings of Woody Guthrie that appeared in the People’s World newspaper during an eighteen-month period beginning May 1939 and ending November 1940. While widely recognized as a songwriter, little scholastic attention has been paid toward Guthrie’s newspaper work. To accommodate this shortcoming, this examination evaluates the “Woody Sez” column by using content analysis of both broadly conceived themes of Guthrie’s writing as well as more narrowly considered features, such as his use of language. This study is organized using a historical narrative approach that follows Guthrie’s biography during the period he contributed to the People’s World and addressing themes found in his writing. Six major components are addressed. First is the evaluation of Guthrie as a dust bowl migrant, whose newspaper column permitted an opportunity for the expression from a migrant’s perspective. Regardless of subject matter, Guthrie’s writing used a unique manner of spelling and grammar; his method of idiomatic composition is the second component of this study. Third is Guthrie’s vi discussion of the social and political conditions in California, which he addressed through his support of individual public policies and well-known state activists. The build-up toward the Second World War coincided with his column, and Guthrie’s discussion of the conflict, and more broadly, the ignobility of war, is the fourth focus of this study. The author evaluates Guthrie’s columns during his 1940 residence in New York City before concluding by addressing Guthrie’s role as a media contributor and critic. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION Woody Guthrie is recognized as a songwriter, artist, political activist, sufferer of Huntington’s disease, and more generally, as an American icon. His “This Land is Your Land” is recognized as both