Talk on Woody Guthrie featured Jan. 10 at OLLI open house

Kathryn Benzel and Mike Adams will present a program on "Woody Guthrie: Re-envisioning 1930s America" at 2:45 p.m. Jan. 10 during the open house New Year's party hosted by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

The open house begins at 1:30 p.m. at the Nebraska Champions Club, 707 Stadium Drive. The free event is open to the public.

The Guthrie presentation beginning at 2:45 p.m. is made possible by the Nebraska Humanities Council and the Osher Institute as part of the council's speakers bureau.

The musical program celebrates Guthrie as America's first singer-songwriter; it both entertains and offers a historical context for listening to Guthrie's folk music. Guthrie's songs and writing embrace the brashness of the American pioneer spirit, a compassion for the underdog, and the often-contradictory nature of American diversity. In particular, his experiences in the Midwest, especially the 1930s crises of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl, underscore this American character. Guthrie's songs provide historical documents of this time when American values of persistence and endurance, of hard work and sacrifice, are tested by adversity.

Adams, a songwriter himself, performs Guthrie's songs focusing on those from America in the 1930s. Benzel, from the University of Nebraska at Kearney, intersperses the performance with excerpts from Guthrie's autobiography "Bound for Glory," and Guthrie's own commentary on such songs as "Deportee," "Pastures of Plenty," "Hobo's Lullaby," "Ramblin' Round," "Union Maid" and "This Land Is Your Land."

The Osher Institute is a collaboration between the Bernard Osher Foundation and the UNL College of Education and Human Sciences. It provides access to intellectually and culturally stimulating programs for adults ages 50 and above throughout the year. It is one of a national network of institutes creating programs for lifelong learners at 73 universities and colleges across the country.

At this open house members or anyone interested in OLLI can come to register for courses or get information about upcoming trips and special events.

The Nebraska Humanities Council provides major funding for this program. The NHC receives support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Nebraska Legislature, the Nebraska Cultural Endowment and private donations. For information detailing the available speakers and guidelines for booking them, visit www.nebraskahumanities.org.