WAIM #142: Anna Canoni of Woody Guthrie Publications

Anna Canoni describes herself as a coalholder for the legacy of her grandfather, the late great Woody Guthrie. Anna is the third, and most recent steward in a line of women helping to keep Woody’s work available and alive. Like her grandmother, Marjorie, and her mother Nora, Anna is now entrusted with the whole of Woody’s songs and writings to ensure that his work will be available for future generations. These are the women that have been stoking the fire of Woody’s legacy for more than 70 years.Almost every American alive knows Woody Guthrie, and his legendary tune, ‘This Land Is Your Land’. That now famous song was Guthrie’s response to Irving Berlin’s sappy, and nationalistic ‘God Bless America’. With his unique brand of simple genius, Woody managed to weave civic pride, natural beauty, and the very ideas of opportunity and fairness into a four minute ditty that was also easily memorable. In the eighty plus years since he first penned it, the song has been sung by hundreds of millions of Americans, many of whom have often failed to notice its deeper meanings.While the song is his hallmark, ‘This Land’ was far from the sum total of Woody’s contribution to our national cultural heritage. Guthrie traveled the country far and wide to see its citizens as they actually lived, and then wrote openly about those realities using humor, honesty, and generosity. By singing songs of and for the people, Woody helped to capture an often overlooked America filled with dust bowl refugees, migrant workers, itinerant laborers, and farmhands.The folks at Woody Guthrie Publications are dedicated to keeping this legacy and work alive and well. During our conversation, Anna and I talk deeply about the work of her grandfather, and his quest to capture the spirit of humanity in song. Woody believed deeply in the collective power of people, and in the responsibility of every citizen to be engaged and activated.Anna and I also spend a good chunk of time focused on Woody’s 1948 tune, ‘Deportee’, which chronicles a plane crash near Los Gatos Canyon, California wherein 28 migrant workers and three crew members died. In the subsequent news reports, only the white passengers that died were named, with all other, non-white victims listed simply as “deportees”. I share the story of my own recording of the song, and we discuss the meanings of the tune in the era of Trump’s mass deportations, and the killing of two innocent Americans on the streets of Minneapolis this winter.It’s clear to see that Woody Guthrie and his work remain incredibly relevant today in our very fractured America. Thankfully, Anna and her team at Woody Guthrie Publications are continuing to keep Woody’s beliefs and ideas alive through the preservation and publication of his incredible archive. Even in the years after Woody’s death, Anna, her grandmother Nora, and their team have worked with Billy Bragg and Wilco to complete the Mermaid Avenue albums, a series of recordings based around Guthrie’s lyrics. Anna and her team have also worked with Dropkick Murphys on a pair of albums using previously unseen lyrics from Woody.Through these continuing projects, and constant archival work, Woody’s legacy is being secured for generations to come. In addition to the archive, and the subsequent recordings and special projects, there is now a Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The center describes itself as a place that celebrates the life, music and artistry of Woody Guthrie while seeking to ignite a passion for social change and foster a world in which the values of justice, equality, and compassion prevail.Join me and Anna Canoni as she shares all of this and more about her amazing and legendary grandfather, Woody Guthrie. Let’s get into it.Cheers,Matty C-------------------End CreditsThanks so much to Anna for joining me. You can find out all about Woody Guthrie, and all of her work at  https://woodyguthrie.org/. You can also find out more about HUntington’s Disease at https://hdsa.org/The What Am I Making podcast is hosted, written, and produced by me, Matty C.Our theme music was written and recorded by David J. Baldwin.You can subscribe to our show wherever you get your podcasts. Please be sure to like, rate and review the show if you enjoy it.Our work is solely sponsored by listeners and readers like you. Please lend your support today with a paid subscription at whatamimaking.substack.com/. Now is a crucial time for new paid subscribers. Please step up and support the show.You can email the show anytime at [email protected]. You can also leave us a voicemail with your questions or concerns at speakpipe.com/whatamimaking Get full access to What Am I Making at whatamimaking.substack.com/subscribe