Working Girl Blues: The Life and Music of Hazel Dickens

Still churning out songs ""that challenge the easy complacency and corporate arrogance of our time,"" influential Appalachian singer-songwriter Hazel Dickens has devoted her life to writing music not just about ""the predictable themes of bluegrass-mama, the old home place, the distant but cherished past,"" but ""questions of estrangement, survival, human dignity, and social and economic justice that concern us all."" This slim biography, which includes many black and white photographs, lyrics and personal notes from Dickens, as well as a complete discography, chronicles her personal and professional life. Malone, an author and Tulane University history professor, illuminates the life of a ""sensitive and discerning child of the poor"" who overcame ""a society that discouraged women from expressing themselves,"" and, over the decades, ended up speaking out for many. Dickens's stories, accompanying her song lyrics, provide additional insight into her heritage ( ""Coal Miner's Grave,"" ""West Virginia My Home""), personal experience and eccentric voice: ""Scraps from Your Table,"" she says, is ""one of those nasty smart-alecky songs that I like to write."" This tribute to Dickens's life and work will interest bluegrass fans and activists.