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PETE SEEGER'S PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS: "Surrounding Hate and Forcing It to Surrender"

The bulk of this book consists of a rhetorical analysis of Pete Seeger’s public communications. The first chapter identifies some of his ideas about sounds and words, topics he reflected on throughout his life. Chapter two discusses principles undergirding Seeger’s worldview as expressed in his rhetoric. The third chapter concerns repeated themes and lessons, and chapter four discusses how Seeger’s stories planted sage for the soul. Chapter five examines Seeger’s imagery, and chapter six deals with how his humor was “no laughing matter.” Chapter seven deals with the most distinguishing feature of Seeger’s communications – participation. Finally, chapter eight concerns criticisms levied against Seeger and his responses. This chapter looks especially at criticisms that led to Seeger being blacklisted for over seventeen years.Part Two of this book presents song lyrics, speeches, columns, children’s stories, and public letters that span Seeger’s life (and that are not included in their entirety in Dr. Einhorn’s analysis). Because there are so many primary-source texts, many people will likely disagree with some of her choices. She says this is fine because her purpose is simply to give a sense of the scope and variety of Seeger’s rhetoric and to provide easy access to important pieces of discourse that readers might not even know exist; these include his testimony before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), his sealed letter to future grandchildren, his letter that initiated the FBI investigations, his wife’s parody of the song “Turn, Turn, Turn,” and his scathing criticisms about himself published under his wife’s name. The book ends with a thorough, though far from exhaustive, bibliography.Read more

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