Segovia's Fingernail

<p>When Lee Pennington transferred to Berea College in the spring of 1958 the second<br />semester freshman was immediately was named news editor of the Pinnacle the<br />student newspaper.</p><p><br />With way more naiveté than he needed he was asked to go to Boone Tavern and<br />interview a musician who was going to give a concert at the college. Here is what Lee<br />remembers about the moment.</p><p><br />Having grown up in the head of a holler in Greenup County KY and what I knew about<br />the world probably would have fit fairly easily in our water bucket. I had never heard of<br />Andre Segovia and simply had no idea he was already recognized even in the fifties as<br />the world’s greatest guitarist.</p><p><br />He invited me in and for the next 4 hours politely answered all my questions and even<br />permitted this mountain boy an indiscretion I cannot imagine now and even to this day<br />I carry some embarrassment when I think about it.</p><p><br />On the floor in an open case was one of the two hand-made guitars that had been<br />made exclusively for Segovia in Spain. I looked at Segovia and asked “Would you mind<br />if I play your guitar?” I even cringe now these 61 years later of having asked that<br />question.</p><p><br />This gracious gentleman without any hesitation said “Go ahead.” I am certain or fairly<br />certain anyway that it was the only time that “Wildwood Flower” was ever played on<br />Andre Segoiva’s guitar! What I am even more certain of is that this mountain boy stood<br />before a musical genius and received an act of kindness when that boy’s own<br />innocence opened the moment to such an unexpected gift.</p><p><br />At Berea College when Segovia performed in the Phelps Stokes Chapel we students<br />paid 35 cents to hear him. It was the most amazing concert I have ever witnessed. With<br />his guitar on his lap and to a standing room only crowd in Phelps Stokes with no<br />amplification whatsoever Segovia held us spell bound for a very long concert—well<br />over two hours. As I remember there were nine standing ovation encores.<br />The memory of my encounter with Segovia was indelible.</p><p><br />Years later I was thinking about that concert—what it meant to music what it meant to<br />art in general what it meant to all of us I came up with the idea for the poem “Segovia’s<br />Fingernail.” I wanted to tell about two kinds of people—one who was totally immersed in<br />art and another who merely wanted to be seen at artsy things.</p><p><br />Then the idea grew. Thus Segovia’s Fingernail the book was born.</p>