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Jessica de Koninck's avatar

At some point in my mid-years I realized that life is like improv, or life is improv. The answer is always, “Yes.” It may be “yes and” or “yes, but,” but never, “No.” I seem to be hard wired that way, even when declining might have served me better.

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Esther Cohen's avatar

This is a beautiful column, about a beautiful man. I met him only once or twice, though I was once mistaken for him (!).

I remember speaking with him, and esp. with Mary. when PP&M received the Tom Paine Award at the annual dinner of the ECLC,

of which my parents were proud members. How poignant it is to remember now that Jimmy Carter pardoned him

for his sexual indiscretion (that had put him in prison for 3 months) on his last day in office.

I have two might-have-been anecdotes to add to what you wrote, which I hope you'll share:

1. When I was driving Pete & Toshi Seeger to the train after David Dellinger's Riverside Church funeral,

I mentioned to him that Tony Saletan (the discoverer of "Michael, Row Your Boat Ashore")

had read and pointed out to me a passage in Lee Hays's autobiography, indicating that his lyrics for

"If I Had a Hammer" had been inspired by words in Marc Blitzstein's AIRBORNE SYMPHONY:

"Not without warning! Warning! Warning!" Pete said he hadn't known that before,

though of course he'd known Marc Blitzstein. (I've read their correspondence.)

But he then told me a story I hadn't heard before, but have repeated numerous times:

"Do you know why The Weavers didn't make that song a hit, but left it for Peter, Paul & Mary to do?

Because our manager, Harold Leventhal, said to us: 'I got you guys off the blacklist.

I don't want you going around singing about hammers and sickles!'"

And indeed, as you indicated, that song was prompted by the persecution of Benjamin Davis,

who was a Communist, and the song was in fact first sung at a Communist meeting.

I wonder how many people, including Congressman Tom Delay,

who called himself "The Hammer," realize that!

2. The other might-have-been anecdote I want to share with you is regarding The Triangle Fire.

Ellen Frankel and I wrote an opera about it, premiered at the American Labor Museum

on Labor Day, 2016, and then performed 5 times more in 2016-17 in NJ & NY with

The Metropolitan Philharmonic Chorus and the Solidarity Singers of the NJ Industrial Union Council,

including a Mar. 5, 2017 performance at Long Beach Public Library, introduced by Prof. Mary Anne Trasciatti,

and a final performance Mar. 25, 2017 at NYU (in the building where the actual fire took place),

thanks to Prof. Michael Beckerman. (See https://ljlehrman.homestead.com/TriangleFireFlyer.html )

An aria was sung by Helene Williams on Oct. 13, 2016 at The Lotus Club:

https://youtu.be/h63fHdH5A9U?si=_-fQ8lLZSUjcj96L

We offered to perform that aria at the dedication of the Triangle Fire Memorial, Oct. 12, 2023

(Helene's 80th birthday!) and thought our offer had been accepted, only to learn belatedly that there

was "no room" for us on the program. We were of course extremely disappointed,

and decided instead to attend a taping of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

But we were glad the event took place. Did Peter Yarrow in fact sing at it?

Thanks again for all you do. Please share, as you have before.

With much love -

Leonard (& Helene Williams Spierman) Lehrman

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Flash Rosenberg's avatar

Dearest Esther, This loving, moving, inspiring, articulate tribute MOVES me to my core..and gives me hope for how it is possible to hold special people so DEAR...especially during this era of utter-assholes elected to take charge of our beloved country. Your words give me HOPE.

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Anita Altman's avatar

He also opened his own home for fundraising gathers=ings to help progressive causes he believed in!

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Carolyn Toll Oppenheim's avatar

It's so good to read these things I didn't know about Peter Yarrow. I'm a tad older than you and was always resentful of him for coming in and "popularizinging" Seeger's songs starting in 1961 when Pete was blacklisted and it didn't lift until 1967. There were chords and and melodies that were changed from edgy to "smooth" to take the left critique out. A group of us resisted singing the PPM versions until Pete himself gave the blessing.

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Esther Cohen's avatar

Peter Yarrow invited a whole bunch of Occupiers to his apartment to teach us how to turn familiar songs into Occupy Wall St. chants and songs for various issues, especially environmental issues. Most of us were part of the OWS Environmental Solidarity Working Group. We were there for hours. What a great guy!

At one point, he brought Mercy Van Vlack, now with the NYC Raging Grannies, up to the front to lead songs. He compared her voice to Ronnie Gilbert of the Weavers and Mary Travers, who are two of Mercy's three favorite singers/role models (the other being Janis Joplin). At one point he said to us, his arm around Mercy's shoulders, "I want to record with this woman." We wrote him a letter to follow up on that, but never got an answer back.

We will always treasure that afternoon.

And boy do I agree with "We certainly need more music now"! Hooray for the Solidarity Singers, all the Raging Grannies "gaggles" and Peoples' Voice Cafe. And WBAI-FM.

Sigh.

Rest in Power,

Ken & Mercy

www.ecoradio.org

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