(WEST LONG BRANCH, NJ) -- The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University will host a conversation and book signing with Nora Guthrie and Bob Santelli on Thursday, December 1 at 7:30pm on the campus of Monmouth University in West Long Branch.

Their book, Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom, was recently awarded the 2022 Deems Taylor /Virgil Thomson Book Award from ASCAP.

Monmouth University English Professor Michael Thomas will moderate the conversation with Guthrie and Santelli. The evening program will be held in the Great Hall Auditorium, and is open to the public.. Doors will open at 7:00pm. Free parking is available in Lot 14 (off Route 71, Norwood Avenue).

Copies of Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom will be available for purchase and signing by the authors. 

Woody Guthrie: Songs and Art, Words and Wisdom is a collection of Guthrie’s writings and art assembled by Nora Guthrie and Santelli and complemented by essays from hip hop legend Chuck D, presidential historian Douglas Brinkley, son/musician Arlo Guthrie and others.  The book was the inspiration for a recent exhibition hosted by the Morgan Library in New York called Woody Guthrie: People Are the Song that was curated by Guthrie and Santelli.

Nora Guthrie is a recognized author, curator, and record producer.  She is also the founder of the Woody Guthrie Archives, most of which is now housed in the Woody Guthrie Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Santelli is the author of more than a dozen books on American music, including Greetings from E Street: The Story of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band and is the Executive Director of the Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music. 

The ASCAP Foundation Deems Taylor/Virgil Thomson Awards program recognizes books, articles, and liner notes on the subject of music selected for their excellence. The Awards were established in 1967 to honor the memory of composer, critic, and commentator Deems Taylor, who died in 1966 after a distinguished career that included six years as President of ASCAP. The Awards were renamed in 2014 to also honor the memory of Virgil Thomson (1896 – 1989), one of the leading American composers and critics of the 20th Century, and a former member of the ASCAP Board of Directors.

The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University serves as the official archival repository for Bruce Springsteen’s written works, photographs, periodicals, and artifacts.  The Center preserves and promotes the legacy of Bruce Springsteen and his role in American music, while honoring and celebrating icons of American music like Woody Guthrie, Robert Johnson, Frank Sinatra, Gaslight Anthem and others.  The Archives comprise nearly 35,000 items from 47 countries, ranging from articles and concert memorabilia to artifacts and oral histories. The collection serves the research and informational needs of music fans, scholars, authors, and others with a serious interest in the life and career of Bruce Springsteen.  By appointment only.