New documentary explores life of writer behind iconic patriotic song
Katharine Lee Bates, the writer of the lyrics for "America the Beautiful" (left) over a still image of the Rocky Mountains featured in the film “From Sea to Shining Sea: Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America The Beautiful.” Courtesy of “Sea to Shining Sea” film
"America the Beautiful" is a well-known song celebrating the country and praising its natural wonders. But what do we know about the life of the person who wrote the lyrics?
Her name was Katharine Lee Bates. She was a poet, professor, and university administrator. She was an independent woman in an era when that was not common, but she was also, in her own way, more conservative than some of her liberated peers.
All that and more is the subject of the new documentary “From Sea to Shining Sea: Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America The Beautiful.”
The film is the work of a veteran public television producer John de Graaf. 21st Show host Brian Mackey sat down with him before a live audience in the Collins Studio at Illinois Public Media after a screening of the film.
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John de Graaf
Director, “From Sea to Shining Sea: Katharine Lee Bates and the Story of America the Beautiful”
