Woodie Guthrie and his Columbia River songs will be featured at Saint Martin's fall colloquium

Oct. 31, 2005

Lacey – During the Great Depression that rocked the United States in the 1930s, Bonneville Power hired famed folksinger Woody Guthrie to travel the Columbia River and write songs to promote public power as new dams were built on the river. Guthrie’s music had a knack for making the ordinary folks and places unforgettable. In his whirlwind 30 days on the Columbia, Guthrie churned out 26 tunes, forever capturing a unique slice of Washington history.

On Nov. 16, Seattle folk musician Carl Allen will bring Guthrie to life in a first-person characterization and share some of that music in “Roll On Columbia: Woody Guthrie and the Columbia River Songs.” Allen’s program is a presentation of the annual Fall Colloquium of the Saint Martin’s University Society of Fellows, the university’s honor society. The colloquium, which will include an induction ceremony for new society members, is free and the public is invited. It will be at 7 p.m. at the university’s Worthington Conference Center, 5300 Pacific Ave. SE.

Allen’s folk music career dates back to the 1960s. He has performed at fairs, banquets and festivals, as well as on radio and television. His music also is part of three Public Television programs on Washington.

The presentation is part of the Humanities Washington “Inquiring Mind” series. Humanities Washington is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting public programs in the humanities throughout the state of Washington.

For more information:

Deanna Partlow
Media relations coordinator
(360) 438-4541
dpartlow@stmartin.edu