Peggy Seeger
Appeared: 6 August
Peggy Seeger is a totally unique artist who has carved a special place in the folk revival of both the UK and the USA. Now in her 80s, her light burns as brightly as ever, with legendary live performances that might include an unaccompanied traditional ballad, followed by an anecdote from her remarkable life, before launching into a topical song about drugs, war, hormones, politicians, unions, women, love or ecology. A multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, English concertina and Appalachian dulcimer), she is lauded for her feminist and political songs. She has made 23 solo recordings and participated in over a hundred more with other artists. As Ewan MacColl’s partner and muse, she was the inspiration for MacColl’s classic ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ (the title of her much-praised recent memoir) yet this is a woman who has consistently followed her own path with passion and vigour.
In 2017 her memoir, First Time Ever (Faber & Faber) was shortlisted for the prestigious Penderyn Music Book Prize and made several ‘Books of the Year’ lists, including the Guardian and Sunday Telegraph. The paperback edition was published in September 2018.
Appeared: 6 August
Peggy Seeger is a totally unique artist who has carved a special place in the folk revival of both the UK and the USA. Now in her 80s, her light burns as brightly as ever, with legendary live performances that might include an unaccompanied traditional ballad, followed by an anecdote from her remarkable life, before launching into a topical song about drugs, war, hormones, politicians, unions, women, love or ecology. A multi-instrumentalist (piano, guitar, 5-string banjo, autoharp, English concertina and Appalachian dulcimer), she is lauded for her feminist and political songs. She has made 23 solo recordings and participated in over a hundred more with other artists. As Ewan MacColl’s partner and muse, she was the inspiration for MacColl’s classic ‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ (the title of her much-praised recent memoir) yet this is a woman who has consistently followed her own path with passion and vigour.
In 2017 her memoir, First Time Ever (Faber & Faber) was shortlisted for the prestigious Penderyn Music Book Prize and made several ‘Books of the Year’ lists, including the Guardian and Sunday Telegraph. The paperback edition was published in September 2018.
Spotlight on Bookshops...
Blackwells - Oxford Broad Street
48-51 Broad Street
Oxford
OX1 3BQ
Telephone: 01865 792792
Email: [email protected]
Trading since 1879, Blackwell of Oxford is the largest academic and specialist bookseller in the UK. Fast dispatch, carefully packaged, worldwide delivery.
Peggy Seeger says, '‘Without a doubt my choice is Blackwells bookshop in Oxford, a maze of dangerous shelving, threatening to my bank account and downsizing efforts as I have never exited without two or three or four books in my wheelie. Furthermore, their staff are extra helpful to me, a person who cannot surf rows of books without going into a trance.'
48-51 Broad Street
Oxford
OX1 3BQ
Telephone: 01865 792792
Email: [email protected]
Trading since 1879, Blackwell of Oxford is the largest academic and specialist bookseller in the UK. Fast dispatch, carefully packaged, worldwide delivery.
Peggy Seeger says, '‘Without a doubt my choice is Blackwells bookshop in Oxford, a maze of dangerous shelving, threatening to my bank account and downsizing efforts as I have never exited without two or three or four books in my wheelie. Furthermore, their staff are extra helpful to me, a person who cannot surf rows of books without going into a trance.'
Spotlight on Theatres...
The Other Place
22 Southern Lane
Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BH
Website: https://www.rsc.org.uk/your-visit/the-other-place
Telephone: 01789 331111
A trip to Stratford-upon-Avon isn't complete until you've visited The Other Place. The Other Place is a black box theatre on Southern Lane, near to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is owned and operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2006, an earlier version of the theatre closed and reopened as the temporary and larger Courtyard Theatre, while the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres were redeveloped. In March 2016, The Other Place, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre.
Peggy Seeger says, 'I haven’t been to the theatre for decades but the most exciting show I ever saw was in the 1980s in Stratford upon Avon at The Other Place . It was a very small, claustrophobic space where a performance of Arden of Faversham enabled a murder to take place in the aisles, behind the audience … everywhere. Gripping.'
22 Southern Lane
Stratford-upon-Avon CV37 6BH
Website: https://www.rsc.org.uk/your-visit/the-other-place
Telephone: 01789 331111
A trip to Stratford-upon-Avon isn't complete until you've visited The Other Place. The Other Place is a black box theatre on Southern Lane, near to the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon. It is owned and operated by the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2006, an earlier version of the theatre closed and reopened as the temporary and larger Courtyard Theatre, while the Royal Shakespeare and Swan Theatres were redeveloped. In March 2016, The Other Place, designed by Ian Ritchie Architects, was reinstated as a 200-seat studio theatre.
Peggy Seeger says, 'I haven’t been to the theatre for decades but the most exciting show I ever saw was in the 1980s in Stratford upon Avon at The Other Place . It was a very small, claustrophobic space where a performance of Arden of Faversham enabled a murder to take place in the aisles, behind the audience … everywhere. Gripping.'
Spotlight on Libraries...
Harvard Library
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Website: https://library.harvard.edu/
The Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for the Harvard University libraries and their shared services, such as access, preservation, digital infrastructure, digital imaging, and discovery services. The Harvard Library is nearly 400 years old, making it the oldest library system in the United States.
Peggy says, 'I’m ashamed to say that I never go to libraries anymore. I listen to books on audio. I try not to sit down too much and having a device and headphones has enabled me to read hundreds books while I walk, cook, iron, etc., during these last few years. The most glorious two libraries in my life have been respectively the Library of Congress in Washington dc (in the 1940s) and the Harvard library in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1950s.'
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Website: https://library.harvard.edu/
The Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for the Harvard University libraries and their shared services, such as access, preservation, digital infrastructure, digital imaging, and discovery services. The Harvard Library is nearly 400 years old, making it the oldest library system in the United States.
Peggy says, 'I’m ashamed to say that I never go to libraries anymore. I listen to books on audio. I try not to sit down too much and having a device and headphones has enabled me to read hundreds books while I walk, cook, iron, etc., during these last few years. The most glorious two libraries in my life have been respectively the Library of Congress in Washington dc (in the 1940s) and the Harvard library in Cambridge, Massachusetts in the 1950s.'