[DOC] Horton Foote: America's Storyteller by Wilborn Hampton at Arts-Photography

Description

In A Fine Romance; David Lehman looks at the formation of the American songbookmdash;the timeless numbers that became jazz standards; iconic love songs; and sound tracks to famous moviesmdash;and explores the extraordinary fact that this songbook was written almost exclusively by Jews.An acclaimed poet; editor; and cultural critic; David Lehman hears America singingmdash;with a Yiddish accent. He guides us through America in the golden age of song; when ldquo;Embraceable You;rdquo; ldquo;White Christmas;rdquo; ldquo;Easter Parade;rdquo; ldquo;Bewitched; Bothered and Bewildered;rdquo; ldquo;Canrsquo;t Help Lovinrsquo; Dat Man;rdquo; ldquo;My Romance;rdquo; ldquo;Cheek to Cheek;rdquo; ldquo;Stormy Weather;rdquo; and countless others became nothing less than the American sound track. The stories behind these songs; the shows from which many of them came; and the shows from which many of them came; and the composers and lyricists who wrote them give voice to a specifically American saga of love; longing; assimilation; and transformation.Lehmanrsquo;s analytical skills; wit; and exuberance infuse this book with an energy and a tone like no other: at once sharply observant; personally searching; and attuned to the songs that all of us love. He helps us understand how natural it should be that Wizard of Oz composer Harold Arlen was the son of a cantor who incorporated ldquo;Over the Rainbowrdquo; into his Sabbath liturgy; and why Cole Portermdash;the rare non-Jew in this pantheon of musicians who wrote these classic songs shaped America even as America was shaping them.(Part of the Jewish Encounter series)