Eleanor Waltzes: Women’s Music and Poetry for Eleanor Roosevelt During the Great Depression

As First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt frequently addressed the concerns of American women. She communicated through press conferences, radio broadcasts, and her newspaper column. She also traveled widely, witnessing the abject poverty of the Great Depression first hand. Roosevelt’s 1933 article, “I want you to write to me,” generated not only thousands of letters from American citizens, but also 38 boxes of their music and poetry, now held by the FDR Presidential Library in Hyde Park, New York. Eleanor Waltzes is a lecture-recital featuring never before heard compositions and poems from the collection that capture women’s responses to Roosevelt and their relationship with her.

After an introductory lecture, the program’s musical portion features songs and instrumental music often named for Roosevelt, such as the Eleanor Roosevelt Waltz and Our Lady Eleanor. The trio, My Day, recalls Roosevelt’s daily column, and Madeline Bush’s Hymn for Peace was sent to her by…