House of Earth

Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie (July 14, 1912 – October 3, 1967) was an American singer-songwriter and folk musician whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He became an icon of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. His work and image have influenced such songwriters as Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, Joe Strummer, Billy Bragg and Phil Ochs. He is remembered as an anti-authoritarian patriot, but most of all a man of and for the people.

Praise for 'House of Earth': 'House of Earth is so alive it is hard to realise that its author has been gone for 45 years ...The prose is beautiful and not lascivious. You feel that he had read his James Joyce, but the tone and quality of the writing is pure Woody Guthrie. Stark, original, brutal in spots, lyrical in others, often very funny. Could it be considered pornographic? Well, it's more original and written better than 50 Shades of Grey!' Suzanne Vega, The Times 'Such prose was clearly unpublishable in its time, and is still unusually explicit today ... At its best, the book is an eccentric hymn to the everythingness of everything, a sort of hillbilly Finnegans Wake ... it offers intimate, often startling access to the peculiar intellect and capacious soul of a 20th-century icon.' Michel Faber, Guardian 'A heartfelt story about grinding poverty ...This novel, more than a curiosity, is both welcome and timely.' Martin Chilton, Daily Telegraph 'With Guthrie's ear for language and eye for human passions, House of Earth is an engaging and poetic story about struggle that still rings true today. Its revival is welcome' Joy Lo Dico, Independent on Sunday 'The publisher compares Woody Guthrie with John Steinbeck and D.H. Lawrence, but Woody is much funnier' Spectator 'His lyrical style shows why he had such an influence on the likes of Bob Dylan' Shortlist Magazine