Quote:
Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris
Of course it doesn't show him in a good light and I would expect a presentation about a Hitler admirer would similarly not show the person in a good light. Will Kaufman's treatment of Guthrie seems to me to be generally sympathetic; I personally find it curious that anyone could have any regard for someone who was the admirer of a mass murderer.
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I think he's fascinated by him. Will Kaufman says himself that it shocks him.
'Guthrie, the book reveals, wasn't only a communist but an intensely pro-Stalin one. "Shocking to me was the extent and the longevity of his appreciation of Stalin, even after much of the American left had begun to distance themselves," says Kaufman.'
Also, if you read the article about Will Kaufman, it says that Woody Guthrie may have been pro-Stalin to start off with but completely changs his view. I quote this from the article in the Guardian.
'It was in California that Guthrie's eyes opened to his own racism, according to the book. It details a turning point in 1937, when Guthrie – after he had played the appallingly racist song Run, Nigger, Run on the air – received a "politely incandescent" letter from a young black college student.
Guthrie was so shaken by it, he read out the letter on the airwaves the next day, apologised profusely, ripped the song sheet to shreds and swore he would never use the N-word again. He went on to become one of the most committed civil rights activists of his generation.'