RAI Open Friday with Will Kaufman, University of Central Lancashire
Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) was an American singer-songwriter known for his folk- and political songs. In 2014 Will Kaufman discovered, buried in the archives, previously unpublished song lyrics and other writings arising from Guthrie’s encounter with the racist practices of his Brooklyn landlord, Fred C. Trump, father of the U.S. president. Combining song and spoken word, Will reveals Guthrie’s racial awakening and emergent activism, introducing previously unheard songs as “Trump Made a Tramp Out of Me” and “Beach Haven Ain’t My Home”, along with a host of other Guthrie songs about racial injustice and struggle.
Will Kaufman is a singer, multi-instrumentalist, and Professor of American Studies who is widely recognised as the world’s leading authority on Woody Guthrie. He is the author of Woody Guthrie, American Radical (2011), Woody Guthrie’s Modern World Blues (2017), and Mapping Woody Guthrie (2019).
