Making Music to Make Music: Crafting Community through the Folk Songs of Ruth Mountaingrove

Virtual Presentation by Kasey Lynch.

Throughout the 1970s, feminists were drawn to spaces where they could commune and thrive in a society that existed outside of patriarchal and capitalist influence. In a feminist separatist communities in southern Oregon, Ruth Mountaingrove used her talent as a folk musician to write songs about her activism and the community of women she was working with. Her archive at the University of Oregon holds some of the only publicly accessible copies of her published songbook, “The Turned On Women Songbook (1975);” a book intended to provide musical material to be shared at festivals or meetings. Upon spending time with the (many) drafts of this songbook, it became clear that its physical compilation is the primary act of community building, with the singing of each song serving to expand and sustain that community. This collection is the historical preservation of a time, place, and identity that would have been lost, if not for a dedicated group of women compiling their knowledge to work together and transcribe these songs. The significance of this musical collection is proven when we, 51 years later, can sing these songs together.