Yip Harburg: Legendary Lyricist with a Brain, a Heart, and the Nerve

Harriet Hyman Alonso (history, CCNY), author of the new book Yip Harburg: Legendary Lyricist and Human Rights Activist (Wesleyan University Press), takes her audience into the political world of Harburg, writer of such beloved lyrics as "Over the Rainbow," "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," "April in Paris," and hundreds of other songs. Using over fifty interviews spanning 1934-1980 (most of them previously unpublished), as well as over forty lyrics and a number of poems, Alonso weaves the story of Harburg's life and commitment to human rights, from his birth in 1896 to this death in 1981. In this presentation, the author introduces some of Harburg's memories, lyrics, and poetry to illustrate his commitment to the causes of world peace, racial justice, and people's right to basic human needs. This talk, like the book, is a wonderful collaboration between an extraordinary lyric writer and the historian who never met him. This is a book launch; book signing to follow.