Audiobooks Narrated by Danny Swopes

The Poetry of Alan Seeger

Alan Seeger was born on 22nd June 1888 in New York. When he was one the family moved to Staten Island and nine years later onwards to Mexico for two years. After attending several elite preparatory schools he enrolled at Harvard in 1906, where he also edited and wrote for the Harvard Monthly.He graduated in 1910 and went to live the life of a bohemian in New York's Greenwich Village, and thereafter moved to Paris to continue his poetry writing in the Latin quarter. War's looming dark shadow was to have a transformative effect on the young poet and on 24th August 24th 1914 he joined the French Foreign Legion so he could fight for the Allies.On American Independence day, 4th July 1917 whilst urging on his fellow soldiers in a successful charge at Belloy-en-Santerre he was hit several times by machine gun fire and died.His poetry was published posthumously later that year, it although not a great success his poem 'I Have a Rendezvous with Death . . .' is now regarded as a classic.On the sixth anniversary of his death a memorial to the American volunteers was unveiled in the Place des Etats-Unis. The memorial was created by Jean Boucher who had used a photograph of Seeger as his inspiration. Also inscribed upon it are Seeger's moving words: "They did not pursue worldly rewards; they wanted nothing more than to live without regret, brothers pledged to the honour implicit in living one's own life and dying one's own death. Hail, brothers! Goodbye to you, the exalted dead! To you, we owe two debts of gratitude forever: the glory of having died for France, and the homage due to you in our memories."

Alan Seeger (Author), Christopher Ragland, Danny Swopes, Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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The Poetry of Wallace Stevens

Wallace James Stevens was born on October 2nd, 1879 in Reading, Pennsylvania.His father, a lawyer, sent Wallace to Harvard as a non-degree special student, after which he movedto New York City and worked briefly as a journalist.From there he attended New York Law School and graduated in 1903. On a trip home to Reading in1904 Stevens met Elsie Viola Kachel, a saleswoman, milliner, and stenographer.After working for several New York law firms he was hired in January 1908, as a lawyer for the American Bonding Company.After a 6 year courtship Wallace and Elsie married in 1909 over the objections of his parents. For Wallace it was a seismic event; he never spoke to his father again. By 1914 Wallace had become the vice-president of the New York office of the Equitable SuretyCompany of St. Louis, Missouri. In 1916, he joined Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company and they moved to Hartford. His work was full-time and time for his poetry writing was in short supply.From January 1922 made several business several visits to Key West, Florida. "The place is a paradise," he wrote to Elsie, "midsummer weather, the sky brilliantly clear and intensely blue, the sea blue and green beyond what you have ever seen."In 1923 'Harmonium' was published. At last, at age 38, he was an overnight success. His career wasnot prodigious in quantity but its quality was exceptional.In March 1955 Wallace underwent various medical tests and an operation which resulted in a diagnosis of stomach cancer.He travelled in early June to receive honorary Doctorates at Hartford and Yale.Wallace was readmitted on July 21st to St. Francis Hospital where his condition deteriorated. Wallace Stevens died on the 2nd August 1955 at the age of 75. He won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his Collected Poems in 1955.

Wallace Stevens (Author), Christopher Ragland, Danny Swopes, Liza Ross (Narrator)

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The Poetry of Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane was born 1st November, 1871 in Newark, New Jersey and was the eighth surviving child out of fourteen. Incredibly he began writing at the age of four and was published several times by the age of sixteen. Crane only began a full-time education when he was nine but quickly mastered the grades needed to catch up and move forward. Although educated at Lafayette and Syracuse he had little interest in completing university and was keener to move on to a career, declaring college to be 'a waste of time'. By twenty he was a reporter and two years later had published his debut novel 'Maggie: A Girl of the Streets'. In literary circles this was hailed as the first work of American literary Naturalism. Two years later, in 1895, he was the subject of worldwide acclaim for his Civil War novel, written without the benefit of any actual war experiences, 'The Red Badge of Courage'. It was indeed a masterpiece and his finest hour. A year later life began its downwards descent when he became embroiled in a scandal which was to doom his career. In attempting to help a suspected prostitute being falsely charged by a policeman he became the target of the authorities.Later the same year en-route to Cuba as a War Correspondent he met the hotel madam Cora Taylor in Jacksonville, Florida. This was to become the defining relationship of his life. Continuing his journey, somewhere between Florida and Cuba his ship sank, and he was cast adrift for several days. Rescued, he returned to cover conflicts wherever they were situated, some as far away as Greece. For a time he lived in England with Cora, usually beyond their means, befriending fellow writers such as H G Wells and Joseph Conrad. His poems, predominantly short and abstract, display another facet of his talent which questions, advises and presents his audience with much to contemplate. Some are difficult to engage with but with the effort comes the reward. In declining health and beset by money problems, Stephen Crane died of tuberculosis, aged a mere 28 on 5th June 5, 1900, at Badenweiler, Germany. He is buried in New Jersey.

Stephen Crane (Author), Danny Swopes, Ghizela Rowe (Narrator)

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The Poetry of James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida on June 17th 1871. His mother, Helen, a musician and a public school teacher initially home-schooled him giving him a love of both English literature and European music. At 16 his education moved to Atlanta University and he graduated with a degree in 1894. In 1904 Johnson helped in Theodore Roosevelt's presidential bid. On winning Roosevelt appointed him as US consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela in 1906 and then Nicaragua from 1909. Johnson worked for the NAACP from 1916 as a field secretary, organizing local chapters. To counter race riots and lynching’s he organized mass demonstrations, such as a silent protest parade of over ten thousand African Americans down New York’s Fifth Avenue in July 1917. In 1920 Johnson was elected to manage the NAACP, the first African American to hold this position. That same year he was dispatched to monitor conditions in Haiti and described in The Nation the brutal occupation and also offered remedies. During the 1920’s he was one of the major inspirations of the Harlem RenaissanceIn the midst of all this he continued to write novels, poems, and folklore. In 1917, he saw published ‘50 Years and Other Poems’. In 1922, he edited ‘The Book of American Negro Poetry’, which the Academy of American Poets calls "a major contribution to the history of African-American literature." In 1927 followed ‘God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse’. One of the first African-American professors at NYU he was also, later, a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. His career spanned several elements; education, the diplomatic corps, civil rights activism, literature, poetry, and music. James Weldon Johnson died on June 26th, 1938 whilst vacationing in Wiscasset, Maine when his car was hit by a train.

James Weldon Johnson (Author), Danny Swopes, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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The Poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar

Paul Laurence Dunbar was born on June 27th, 1872 in Dayton Ohio. His parents had been slaves in Kentucky before the Civil War. Dunbar wrote his first poem at age 6 and gave his first public recital at age 9. By 16 he was already published as a poet in ‘The Herald’, a local newspaper.After completing his formal schooling in 1891, Dunbar was employed as an elevator operator, at $4 a week. His hopes of a legal career floundered on a lack of funds and racial discrimination. However, he wrote his poetry and took every opportunity to publish. In 1892 his employers sent him to the United Brethren Publishing House which, in 1893, printed his dialect poetry, ‘Oak and Ivy; Dunbar subsidized the printing and earned back his investment in two weeks by selling copies himself.Dunbar also wrote the lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, the first musical written and performed entirely by African Americans. It was produced on Broadway in 1903; and then toured England and the United States for four years.After returning from a literary tour of United Kingdom, Dunbar married Alice Ruth Moore on March 6th, 1898. She was a teacher and poet from New Orleans. Dunbar called her "the sweetest, smartest little girl I ever saw". Alice would become as famous as Paul during her life for her own literary works.In 1900, he was diagnosed with tuberculosis and his doctors recommended drinking whisky to alleviate his symptoms. The couple moved to Colorado as the cold, dry mountain air was considered favorable for his health. Dunbar and Alice separated in 1902, but never divorced. But Depression and declining health drove him to depend on alcohol, and health deteriorated.His short career was prolific; a dozen books of poetry, four books of short stories, four novels, lyrics for ‘In Dahomey’, and a play. Dunbar’s essays and poems were published widely in leading journals including ‘Harper's Weekly’ and ‘The Saturday Evening Post’. He was also a committed civil rights activist.In 1904 he returned to Dayton to be with his mother. Paul Laurence Dunbar died of tuberculosis on February 9th, 1906, at the age of only thirty-three.

Paul Laurence Dunbar (Author), Danny Swopes, Ghizela Rowe, Richard Mitchley (Narrator)

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African Punctuality: Time Is Divine and of the Greatest Essence

Africans, both home, and in the diaspora, handle time. Time is central, critical, and crucial to our human existence. The Creator-God respected time very much in the creation account in Genesis Chapters 1 and 2. Maximum utilization of time leads to development and progress. Conversely, the misuse and misappropriation of time are 'friendly' to poverty. The twenty-four hours divided into three segments of discussion and analysis in this book tell the full story. Time is priceless and most valuable. It is key to our survival as a people.

Gabriel Amoateng-Boahen (Author), Danny Swopes (Narrator)

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The Poetry of James Weldon Johnson

James Weldon Johnson was born in Jacksonville, Florida on June 17th 1871. His mother, Helen, a musician and a public school teacher initially home-schooled him giving him a love of both English literature and European music. At 16 his education moved to Atlanta University and he graduated with a degree in 1894. In 1904 Johnson helped in Theodore Roosevelt's presidential bid. On winning Roosevelt appointed him as US consul at Puerto Cabello, Venezuela in 1906 and then Nicaragua from 1909. Johnson worked for the NAACP from 1916 as a field secretary, organizing local chapters. To counter race riots and lynching’s he organized mass demonstrations, such as a silent protest parade of over ten thousand African Americans down New York’s Fifth Avenue in July 1917. In 1920 Johnson was elected to manage the NAACP, the first African American to hold this position. That same year he was dispatched to monitor conditions in Haiti and described in The Nation the brutal occupation and also offered remedies. During the 1920’s he was one of the major inspirations of the Harlem RenaissanceIn the midst of all this he continued to write novels, poems, and folklore. In 1917, he saw published ‘50 Years and Other Poems’. In 1922, he edited ‘The Book of American Negro Poetry’, which the Academy of American Poets calls "a major contribution to the history of African-American literature." In 1927 followed ‘God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse’. One of the first African-American professors at NYU he was also, later, a professor of creative literature and writing at Fisk University. His career spanned several elements; education, the diplomatic corps, civil rights activism, literature, poetry, and music. James Weldon Johnson died on June 26th, 1938 whilst vacationing in Wiscasset, Maine when his car was hit by a train.

James Weldon Johnson (Author), Danny Swopes, Ghizela Rowe, Jesse Wright (Narrator)

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