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Linda Allen papers, 1978-2018

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Allen, Linda, 1945-
Title
Linda Allen papers
Dates
1978-2018 (inclusive)
Quantity
10 linear feet
Collection Number
XOE_CPNWS0354
Summary
This collection documents the music-related projects and activities of long-term Washington State resident and singer/songwriter Linda Allen.
Repository
Western Washington University, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
Goltz-Murray Archives Building
808 25th St.
Bellingham, WA
98225
Telephone: (360) 650-7534
cpnws@wwu.edu
Access Restrictions

The collection is open to the public for research. Advance notice and an appointment may be required for access to audio or audio-visual recordings. A commercial use/publication restriction is in effect.

Languages
English, English
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Historical Note

Linda Allen has worked as a professional songwriter, folk musician, song collector and oral historian for many decades in Washington State. She has compiled four song book collections, produced ten original albums and presented workshops in schools throughout Washington as well as in California, Minnesota, Australia and Alaska. Born in Seattle in 1945, Allen graduated from Pacific Lutheran University with a degree in Education and began her singing career in the San Francisco area in 1969. After performing in coffee houses, theaters, festivals and for two USO tours of the Far East, she returned to Washington State around 1973. She founded two folk centers, the "Sunny Side" in Chehalis and "Applejam" in Olympia, before moving to Bellingham in 1976.

In 1979 Allen compiled and edited the Rainy Day Song Book, a collection of 30 Northwest songs. In 1980 she toured the state for the Washington Women's Heritage Project as well as for Washington State's celebration of women's suffrage. She coordinated the compilation and editing of the Washington State Centennial Commission's Washington Songs and Lore songbook, which was published in 1989. That same year she was named Washington State's resident songwriter: subsequent projects took her around Washington, researching the role of music in Grange culture, leading songwriting workshops and promoting the Centennial. She worked for the Cultural Enrichment Program for the Washington State Arts Commission, the Artist-in-Community Program in Bellingham and, in 1991, was awarded an Artist Trust Fellowship in recognition of her work as a composer.

In 2005, Linda Allen received a Doctor of Ministry degree and was ordained as an Interfaith Minister in 2006. She subsequently founded two choirs in Bellingham, Threshold Choir and Women with Wings. Allen has been a leading figure in the celebration of the centennial of women's suffrage in Washington State, developing and offering musical programs relevant to the theme of women's history and the struggle for the vote. In 2010, she was inducted into the Northwest Women's Hall of Fame. Through her long and active career as a singer/songwriter/performer, Linda Allen has brought awareness of Washington State's rich musical heritage to countless citizens, both young and old, and encouraged them to find their own voice through songwriting.

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Content Description

This collection documents the music and song-related projects and activities of Washington State singer/songwriter Linda Allen. Records are dated from 1978-2018, and include correspondence files, planning and project notes, research and reference materials, financial and contractual information and publicity materials.

Project files include rich documentation relating to the Rainy Day Song Book (1979), which Allen compiled and published, as well as the state-wide Washington Women's Heritage Project (1980-1982). Allen compiled and edited the Washington Songs and Lore song book (1985-1989), sponsored by the Washington State Centennial Commission; this project generated extensive research and correspondence files, among others. She then implemented the Washington Resident Songwriter Project (1988-1992), sponsored by Victory Music and the Washington Centennial Commission. Related files reflect this multifaceted project, in which she gave performances and "Songsharing" workshops throughout the state, wrote nineteen original songs and produced the compact disc "Washington Notebook" as well as an accompanying Curriculum Guide (1992). Allen directed the Washington Grange Music Heritage Project, funded by the Washington State Arts Commission, the National Endowment for the Arts, and with assistance from the Washington State Rural Development Council (1993-1995). Related files reflect her varied activities, including visiting Grange Halls throughout the state, undertaking oral history field work and producing the radio show "By the light of the moon: Grange Hall dances in Washington State." A related project, Washington Grange Heritage Project (1995), was not funded. The collection includes a small amount of material documenting Linda Allen's significant work developing and leading educational music programs celebrating the centennial of women's suffrage in Washington State.

Performance files (1986-2011) include correspondence and notes, resource materials, and information on several of Allen's performances at the Northwest Folklife Festival and also her school programs.

Extensive research files focus on Washington state composers, performers and songs about Washington. Songs are organized as chiefly text with related correspondence or as scores, organized by song title, with related correspondence.

Published audio recordings comprise compact discs produced between 1984 and 2018.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Users must receive written permission from the donor or individual authorized by the donor before quotation or duplication of the papers for commercial purposes. This restriction will expire upon Linda Allen's death.

Preferred Citation

Linda Allen papers, Center for Pacific Northwest Studies, Western Libraries Archives & Special Collections.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

The Linda Allen Papers are organized in accordance with the following series arrangement:

  • Series I. Project Files
  • Series II. Performance Files
  • Series III. Research Materials
  • Series IV. Published Audio Recordings

Processing Note

The collection was processed by Leslie Hall in 2018.

Processing Note

About Harmful Language and Content

To learn more about problematic content in our collections, collection description and teaching tools (including how to provide feedback or request dialogue on this topic), see the following Statement About Potentially Harmful Language and Content

Acquisition Information

Donated to the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies by Linda Allen in multiple installments between 2016 and 2018.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Folk music--Washington (State)--History--Sources
  • Folk songs, English--Washington (State)--History--Sources
  • Music--Washington (State)--History--Sources
  • Songs, English--Washington (State)--History--Sources
  • Women--Suffrage--Washington (State)--History--Sources
  • Women--Washington (State)--History--Sources

Personal Names

  • Allen, Linda, 1945--Archives (creator)

Corporate Names

  • Washington State Grange--Soungs and music

Form or Genre Terms

  • Interviews
  • Personal correspondence
  • Records (Documents)

Finding aid prepared by Leslie Hall for the Center for Pacific Northwest Studies
2018

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

About Creative Commons Licenses in Archives West

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