Pat Wictor

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                  Wednesday, March 4, 2009

• Losing Causes
  
• Ears and Eyes: What I'm listening to and reading
  

     -Eric Bibb, Isaac Asimov and more

• Upcoming Gigs & appearances
  

     full calendar: https://patwictor.com
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Losing Causes

I devoted big portions of my youth to lost causes, some of them wrong-headed in the light of history (and middle age). In the 80's, I organized support for the anti-apartheid movement - a losing cause for decades, until one day it wasn't.  I was one of many college students who marched in support of Nicaraguan revolutionaries, before their years in power proved them incompetents and crooks.   (A losing cause that won, then was lost again by the victors.)   Today I lend support to marriage equality, til now a losing cause, but which I believe is on the right side of common sense, constitutionality, and simple justice.

I have a soft spot for losing causes. They are poignant, for they haunt the dreams of men and women everywhere who want to improve their world (as they see it).

I perform two Civil War-themed songs with Confederate narrators, Rich Deans' "Don't Dig My Grave Too Deep," and Minna Irving's poem I set to music, "Marching Still." What's that about? Some listeners of mine wonder.

The Civil War embodied and exposed the violent tensions in our social fabric.  The same nation that produced the democratic and inclusive principles of our constitution was also built on slavery, permitted Jim Crow for another 90 years, and still struggles to live up to those principles.  Our union was, and remains, messy and imperfect from birth.

There are stories of immense power and humanity in our Civil War and its aftermath. Minna Irving and Rich Deans tell two of them. Some of our most brilliant songwriters, like Pierce Pettis, Kate Campbell, and Tom Kimmel bear eloquent witness to the beauty, pain, and contradictions of the South and its history.That history speaks to all of us, in its complexity and poignancy, and asks humility of all of us.  In important ways, ALL Americans both lost and won the Civil War. Even with the election of Barack Obama, it's a conflict that reverberates in our life today.  

What are some losing causes that are, or have been, close to your heart?
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Links:

Rich Deans:  http://www.richdeans.com
Minna Irving:  Her poem was from "The Columbia Book of Civil War Poetry:  From Whitman to Walcott."
    http://tinyurl.com/c4vgt6
Pierce Pettis:  http://www.piercepettis.com
Kate Campbell:  http://www.katecampbell.com
Tom Kimmel:  http://www.tomkimmel.com

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Ears and Eyes:  What Im Listening to and Reading:
•-Music:
    Eric Bibb, "An Evening with Eric Bibb."  Buy the CD:  http://tinyurl.com/cqjdfd
   Wayne Shorter, "Adam's Apple."  Buy the CD:  http://tinyurl.com/aru9rr
•-Books:
    Isaac Asimov, "Robot Visions."    Buy the book:  http://tinyurl.com/crzz4j  
    Valerie Worth, "All the Small Poems." Buy the book:  http://tinyurl.com/b2vdgp  

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Upcoming Pat Wictor gigs and appearances.  
Full calendar details and links:  https://patwictor.com

March 7    Auction House Events, Audubon, NJ  (Philly area)
March 21  New Moon Coffeehouse, Haverhill, MA  opening for Garnet Rogers
March 22  Occasional Concert Series, Plainfield, VT
March 23  Private Event, Rutland, VT
March 24  Private Event, Rutland, VT
March 29  Traditionsfest, Fair Lawn, NJ  w/ Tom Chapin, Christine Lavin, Abbie & Anthony, Gathering Time   more
April 2      Googie's Lounge, New York, NY  "Slide Sessions" w/ Abbie Gardner
April 3      Garden Stage, Garden City, NY  "Saints & Sinners," w/ Toby Walker
April 4      Glenside House Concert, Glenside, PA  
April 5      Glenside House Concert, Glenside, PA  (2nd show!)
April 18   Stone Soup, Pawtucket, RI  "Saints & Sinners," w/ Toby Walker
April 19  United First Parish (UU) Church, Quincy, MA  (church service)
April 24   6 on the Square, Oxford, NY
April 25   Heartland Concerts, Webster, NY
May 1     Godfrey Daniels, Bethlehem, PA  w/ Brooks Williams
May 2     Landhaven B&B, Barto, PA
May 9    The Linda (WAMC studios) Albany, NY    Phil Ochs Song Night
May 14  Athenaeum, Alexandria, VA
May 15-16  Spring Gulch Folk Festival, New Holland, PA
May 16  Music at the Mission, W. Milford, NJ  "Saints & Sinners," w/ Toby Walker
May 17  Private Event, Columbia, MD

More dates being added all the time!
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Until next time:  many thanks, and warm regards,

Pat Wictor
patwictor@earthlink.net

www.patwictor.com
www.myspace.com/patwictor
http://twitter.com/patwictor
www.reverbnation.com/patwictor
www.youtube.com/patwictor

• - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
  

I'm now on Twitter--for brief thoughts in between newsletters:
http://twitter.com/patwictor

• Buy Pat Wictor's latest CD "Sunset Waltz" at
  

CD Baby.com: http://www.cdbaby.com/wictor5
Amazon.com:  http://tinyurl.com/Amazon-Sunset  
    and
iTunes:  http://tinyurl.com/iTunes-Sunset

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**I now give lessons and coaching in guitar, songwriting, song interpretation, and performance,
in Brooklyn and on the road.   Email me for rates and scheduling:  
patwictor@earthlink.net

Do you want me to perform in your area, in your home, or at your event?
Contact my booking agent, McShane Glover   tel. 410-268-8232, or mcshane@mcnote.com



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                        contact info
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ABOUT PAT WICTOR
Modern Man's Rob Carlson says, "He not only is a great guy and a great talent, but I believe he has, follicle for follicle, the best hair in folk music.

If you are interested in booking Pat Wictor, contact McShane Glover:  
tel. 410-268-8232, or mcshane@mcnote.com

• Bio: https://patwictor.com and http://www.myspace.com/patwictor
  
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• Contact Pat Wictor directly: patwictor@earthlink.net
  

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