Songs of Freedom: The James Connolly Songbook - Softcover

Connolly, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1604868260 ISBN 13: 9781604868265

Publisher: PM Press, 2013

Synopsis

Songs of Freedom is the name of a songbook edited by James Connolly and published in 1907. Connolly’s introduction is better known than the collection for which it was written, containing his oft quoted maxim: “Until the movement is marked by the joyous, defiant singing of revolutionary songs, it lacks one of the most distinctive marks of a popular revolutionary movement, it is the dogma of a few and not the faith of the multitude.” Though most of the songs were of Irish derivation, the songbook itself was published in New York and directed to the American Working Class; explicitly internationalist in its aims. Songs of Freedom is a celebration of the life and work of James Connolly, the Irish revolutionary socialist martyred by the British government for his role in the Easter Rising of 1916. It is at once a collection of stirring revolutionary songs and a vital historical document. For the first time in a hundred years, readers will find the original Songs of Freedom as well as the 1919 Connolly Souvenir program published in Dublin for a concert commemorating Connolly's birth. Both are reproduced exactly as they originally appeared, providing a fascinating glimpse of the workers' struggle at the beginning of the last century. To complete the picture is included the James Connolly Songbook of 1972, which contains not only the most complete selection of Connolly's lyrics, but historical background essential to understanding the context in which the songs were written and performed.

About this title

About the Author

Matt Callahan (Author) : Mat Callahan is a musician and author originally from San Francisco, where he founded Komotion International. Callahan is the author of three books, Sex, Death and the Angry Young Man, Testimony, and The Trouble With Music. He presently resides in Bern, Switzerland. http://www.matcallahan.com James Connelly (Editor) : James Connolly (1868?1916) was an Irish republican and socialist leader. He was executed by a British firing squad because of his leadership role in the Easter Rising of 1916. Connolly was the author of many books and articles, becoming one of the leading revolutionary theorists of his time. At the head of the Irish Citizen Army, Connolly's vision and determination proved decisive in launching the rising which proclaimed the Irish Republic from the steps of Dublin's General Post Office. This set in motion the sequence of events that would unleash the Irish War of Independence (1919-1921), leading ultimately to establishment of the Irish Republic. James Connolly Heron (Foreword by) : James Connolly Heron is a great grandson of James Connolly and author of The Words of James Connolly published by Mercier Press. Theo Dorgan (Preface) : Theo Dorgan is a world-renowned poet, prose writer, editor and translator, originally from Cork, Ireland. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the O'Shaughnessy Award for Irish Poetry.http://www.theodorgan.com/

Review

"PM Press has succeeded brilliantly in the book which is a facsimile reproduction, right down to advertising, of the original 1907 New York printing, and in addition to that a 1919 Connolly Souvenir program, for a concert that commemorated the birth of Connolly." —The Cedar Lounge Revolution

About this edition

• Publisher: PM Press
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1604868260
• ISBN 13: 9781604868265
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 96
• Editor: Callahan Mat