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Available
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Publication
Penguin Classics (1990), Paperback, 80 pages
Description
The inspirational sermons of the old Negro preachers are set down as poetry in this collection -- a classic for more than forty years, frequently dramatized, recorded, and anthologized. Mr. Johnson tells in his preface of hearing these same themes treated by famous preachers in his youth; some of the sermons are still current, and like the spirituals they have taken a significant place in black folk art. In transmuting their essence into original and moving poetry, the author has also ensured the survival of a great oral tradition. Book jacket.
User reviews
LibraryThing member DubiousDisciple
Excellent! This is a Penguin Classic, reprinted in 2008 from the original in 1927. It presents seven inspiring Negro sermons in verse.
A thought-provoking statement comes from the Forward: “African Americans are the only people in the whole world and history who really practice Christianity.” No
These transplanted Africans accepted Jesus as their savior and laid all their worries on him. God’s trombones—the old time Negro preachers—were powerful, eloquent figures in their community. A community surviving on hope. When the lyricists wrote, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, coming for to carry me home,” neither the singer nor the audience had to tax their imagination to consider death a sweet chariot or to doubt that heaven was their destination. When the folk-sermon was in full swing, a rhythmic dance to the beat of powerful voice, an electric current passed through the congregation.
You don’t want to miss these seven poetic sermons.
A thought-provoking statement comes from the Forward: “African Americans are the only people in the whole world and history who really practice Christianity.” No
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one else has ever found in their hearts the gift of forgiveness, the Forward claims. African Americans forgave the slave owners who worked them without payment for 240 years. This ability to forgive made many former slave owners uneasy, so incomprehensible was their forgiveness.These transplanted Africans accepted Jesus as their savior and laid all their worries on him. God’s trombones—the old time Negro preachers—were powerful, eloquent figures in their community. A community surviving on hope. When the lyricists wrote, “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, coming for to carry me home,” neither the singer nor the audience had to tax their imagination to consider death a sweet chariot or to doubt that heaven was their destination. When the folk-sermon was in full swing, a rhythmic dance to the beat of powerful voice, an electric current passed through the congregation.
You don’t want to miss these seven poetic sermons.
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LibraryThing member librisissimo
My interest in this volume of poems comes from a very vivid childhood memory of watching a broadcast performance of the music-dance version of "The Creation" - a very powerful work that left a very favorable impression of the writer's work.
LibraryThing member EddieBennett
This is a very interesting work of seven black sermons done in verse.
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Language
Physical description
80 p.; 7.74 inches
ISBN
0140184031 / 9780140184037
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