Holy Ground: Woody Guthrie’s Yiddish Connection

The 2018 Combined Jewish Women’s Organizations are holding their annual program featuring Woody Guthrie’s daughter, Nora Guthrie.

Nora Guthrie discusses the artistic implications of Woody’s relationship with his Jewish mother-in-law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt. This presentation illuminates the personal and creative relationship between Woody and Aliza with photographs, writings, artwork and music excerpts from the two-disc klezmer project “Wonder Wheel” and “Happy Joyous Hanukkah.”

Nora graduated from NYU’s Tish School of the Arts in 1971, and began a career in modern dance, which had been her mother’s career. In 1992 she shifted her focus to the legacy of her father, folk music legend Woody Guthrie. That year she published a collection of Woody’s songs and illustrations that were previously unreleased, “Woody’s 20 Grow Big Songs.” The following year, with her brother, Arlo, Nora coproduced an audio companion to the collection. And in 1994, she co-founded the Woody Guthrie Archives with Harold Levanthal and Jorge Arevalo. The stated mission for the organization has been to bring a refreshing interpretation of Woody Guthrie’s work and foster a new understanding of his legacy.

The snow date for this event is Jan. 23. The free program is sponsored by the Jewish Women’s Organizations of the North Shore, with a generous grant from the Jewish Women’s Endowment Fund of the North Shore, a donor advised fund of CJP.

For more information, contact Arlyne at 978-337-2155 or arlyneg@nsjcc.org.