The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger
by Alec Wilkinson
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alec WilkinsonEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2009-04-21
ISBN: 0307269957
Number of pages: 176
Publisher: Knopf
Book Reviews of The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait of Pete Seeger
Book Review: A True Man of the People
Summary: 5 Stars
Alec Wilkinson is one of my favorite essayists and Pete Seeger is one of my favorite people; this lovely short portrait leaves one with a sweet image of this true man of the people. Pete Seeger, a folksinger all his life, shunning commercial success in favor of just singing to whoever asked him--and mainly, to union workers, school children and other low-budget audiences--standing up courageously to the House Un-American Activities Committee and being blacklisted for years afterward, is a true American hero in the traditional sense. He's the genuine article: he really doesn't seek fame and fortune and wishes only to sing for, and with, the people. The more people join in, the better; for Seeger, it isn't about his own voice or his talent.
His one shot at serious commercial success was dashed by the blacklisters when, in the early 1950s, his group, the Weavers, had been signed by a television network for their own show. A right-wing group published a pamphlet listing notable men and women whom they claimed were Communists, including Leonard Bernstein, Arthur Miller, Orson Welles, and Seeger. Incapable of bitterness, Seeger's only comment was, "I expected it, so I didn't really feel resentful. We assumed that sooner or later they'd get us."
Seeger lives with his wife of many decades--who seems to share his unpretentious taste--in a woodsy home where he makes his own maple syrup and entertains his visiting children and grandchildren. His lifestyle is simple and basic, as befits a person with his values, described by Wilkinson thus: "...a reverence for nature, a regard for human life, something like scorn for the nurturing of materialistic values, and a belief in the worth of right moral behavior."
Wilkinson writes elegantly, which makes this story even more of a treat to read. Here he is describing Seeger's voice: It was "what is called a split tenor. It was robust--it sounded like the voice that comes from a few rows behind you in church and that everyone follows--and even in complicated passages his pitch was precise."
A portrait emerges of a cheerful, uncomplicated, and genuinely folksy man.
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