Peter N. Carroll
Paul Robeson and the Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War (1936–39), pitting fascism against the legal Spanish Republic, had a powerful impact on Paul Robeson’s political perspective—not least his change of the lyrics of his most famous song, “Ol’ Man River.” Speaking and singing as an anti-fascist, he journeyed with his wife Essie to embattled Spain in 1938 to support the soldiers of the International Brigades. Besides meeting African American members of the Abraham Lincoln brigade, he expanded his research on Flamenco and Cante Jondo (deep song) and left a legacy to poets and singers like Harry Belafonte.
Peter N. Carroll is the author and editor of over 20 books, including The Odyssey of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade: Americans in the Spanish Civil War (1994), The Good Fight Continues: World War II Letters from the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (2006), and Facing Fascism: New York and the Spanish Civil War (2007). He is co-curator of two museum exhibitions: “Shouts From the Wall: Posters of the Spanish Civil War” (with Cary Nelson) and “They Still Draw Pictures: Children’s Art in Wartime From the Spanish Civil War to Kosovo” (with Anthony L. Geist). He is an editor of The Volunteer, and he serves as a trustee of the Puffin Nation Prize for creative citizenship. He is also the author of nine poetry collections, most recently Sketches From Spain: The Legacy of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade (2024) which has been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.