Discover how Woody Guthrie became the folk icon we know during his Los Angeles years (1937-1941)—a transformative period when his cross-country journey shaped his vision of America and crystallized the message that would inspire generations.

We know Woody Guthrie as the role model for Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, as the bard of Greenwich Village, and of course as the scribe of America’s other national anthem “This Land is Your Land.” As we learn in the pages of Woody Guthrie L.A.: 1937 to 1941, Woody Guthrie became the Woody we know when he made his way west from Oklahoma to Los Angeles. He met America’s people. He saw the land that was his land, your land, my land. His eyes opened, his message sharpened, and his words were already on their way to iconic.

Twelve essays tell the story in Woody Guthrie L.A. 1937 to 1941. Celebrated Guthrie experts cover Guthrie’s racial egalitarianism as he threw off the worst of his Oklahoma and Texas roots and pushed past a notorious lynching in which his father may have participated, his ability to mold evangelical perspectives into politically savvy folk songs, and the impact he still exerts in his songs about migrants and workers looking for the main chance in California.