I have just posted a set of articles on MagusInk, celebrating the creative genius born out of
the Dust Bowl phenomenon in the USA during the 1930s - The Muse does some hardtravelin This
set of stories looks at the contributions of writer John Steinbeck, photographer
Dorothea Lange, and ‘The Dust Bowl troubadour’ Woody Guthrie.
Two aspects really struck me out of my research, first was
the difference a little dignity can make to the degradations of poverty. It is
bad enough to be cold, hungry and homeless, but adding social pariah status and
blaming the victim makes breaking the
cycle nearly impossible. The voices and images of this trio at least gave a
human face to these victims.
The other revelation, to me at least, is that I’m not the
only one to constantly fall between two stools, and into an odious pile of
shit. Perhaps the only thing I have in common with Guthrie and Steinbeck, and
it did help to relate better to them. Both had a strong social conscience, and neither was comfortable with aligning that
with any particular fixed and organised group thinking.
Steinbeck in particular was reviled by the political right
and left in the USA. On the other hand he attacked capital and labour
organisations with equal intensity. If he, or Guthrie dallied with socialism and
communism at times but was clearly incapable of becoming embedded with
organisations.
Both he and Guthrie were really only at home with their
subjects, the dispossessed and the grafters and showed little interest in
ideologies and dogmas. Having to compromise or stay quiet for the sake of being
part of a group was simply not in their DNA. Not that that stopped the right
from labelling and attacking, especially during the McCarthy Era. However both
seemed to take those attacks in stride and often somewhat humorously.
I guess the real point is that they could have made their
lives a good deal easier in some respects, no doubt at the cost of being able
to live comfortably with their deep passions. Sometimes the trade off is not
worth it and thankfully that pair were never really tempted by it. Instead,
along with Lange, they have left a valuable and instructive legacy.
