Research Catalog

Title

Yip Harburg : legendary lyricist and human rights activist / Harriet Hyman Alonso.

Author

Alonso, Harriet Hyman

Publication

Middletown, Conn. : Wesleyan University Press, c2012.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Details

Description

xiii, 305 p. : ill.; 24 cm.

Summary

Known as "Broadway's social conscience," E. Y. Harburg (1896-1981) wrote the lyrics to the standards, "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," "April in Paris," and "It's Only a Paper Moon," as well as all of the songs in The Wizard of Oz, including "Over the Rainbow." Harburg always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism, poverty, and war. Interweaving close to fifty interviews (most of them previously unpublished), over forty lyrics, and a number of Harburg's poems, Harriet Hyman Alonso enables Harburg to talk about his life and work. He tells of his early childhood on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, his public school education, how the Great Depression opened the way to writing lyrics, and his work on Broadway and Hollywood, including his blacklisting during the McCarthy era. Finally, but most importantly, Harburg shares his commitment to human rights and the ways it affected his writing and his career path. Includes an appendix with Harburg's key musicals, songs, and films.

Series Statement

Music: interview

Uniform Title

• Project Muse UPCC books
• Music:interview

Subjects

• Biographies
• Biographical sources
• Biography
• Lyricists > United States > Biography
• Harburg, E. Y (Edgar Yipsel), 1896-1981

Genre/Form

• Biography
• Biographies.
• Biographical sources.
• Biographies

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references and index.

Processing Action (note)

• committed to retain

Contents

What's in a name? -- Early years -- Brother, can you spare a dime? -- A pause for Jay Gorney -- Yip's path to show business success -- A pause for Vernon Duke -- From Hollywood to Oz and back -- A pause for Harold Arlen -- Human rights activism takes center stage -- A pause for Agnes de Mille -- Yip's case study of Finian's rainbow -- A pause for Burton Lane -- Anger, frustration, and persistence during the McCarthy years -- A pause for friendship during hard times -- The new old Yip -- Appendix. Musicals, films and songs.

ISBN

• 9780819571281 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 0819571288 (cloth : alk. paper)
• 9780819571243 (ebook)
• 0819571245 (ebook)

LCCN

^^2012012525

OCLC

784125161

Owning Institutions

Harvard Library