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Congo

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Poetry
Chapter: 1 | Listen: 3

The Congo is one of the best-known poems by American poet Vachel Lindsay (1879-1931). It was revolutionary in its use of sounds and rhythms — as sounds and rhythms — and includes elaborate annotations to guide its spoken performance. Lindsay categorized The Congo as “higher Vaudeville” and was famous for his exuberant performances of it. The poem’s imagery is racist, but Lindsay was a product of his time — born 14 years after the end of the American Civil War in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown, he revered Lincoln and viewed himself as a friend and supporter of African-American culture. (Summary by Kathy Thile) [chương_files]

A Discourse Upon the Origin and the Foundation of the Inequality Among Mankind

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Fiction, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Politics
Chapter: 6 | Listen: 3

This work presents Rousseau’s belief in the profoundly transformational effects of the development of civilization on human nature, which Rousseau claims other political philosophers had failed to grasp. Specifically, before the onset of civilization, according to Rousseau, natural man lived a contented, solitary life, naturally good and happy. It is only with the onset of civilization, Rousseau claims, that humans become social beings, and, concomitant with their civilization, natural man becomes corrupted with the social vices of pride, vanity, greed and servility. [chương_files]

15/07/2024

Ballad of Reading Gaol, (version 2)

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Poetry
Chapter: 1 | Listen:

In 1895, Oscar Wilde was sentenced to 2 years of hard labor for acts of ‘gross indecency’. During his time at Reading Gaol, he witnessed a rare hanging, and in the three years between his release and his untimely death in 1900, was inspired to write the following poem, a meditation on the death penalty and the importance of forgiveness, even for (and especially for) something as heinous as murdering one’s spouse; for even the murderer, Wilde argues, is human and suffers more so for being the cause of his own pain, for ‘having killed the thing he loved’; for everyone is the cause of someone else’s suffering and suffers at the hands of another. It is this that Jesus Christ could see; he could continue to see the beauty of our humanity, despite all that we may do to each other, and encouraged us to love each other just the same “The Ballad of Reading Gaol” was published in 1898 and would gain Wilde greater recognition as a poet (in addition to being a great playwright); although his only other volume of poetry, one of his earliest works that he’d published, was also well-received. Sadly, ‘The Ballad’ would be his last. (Summary by Linda Leu). [chương_files]

Cornhuskers

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Poetry, Single Author
Chapter: 5 | Listen: 4

Carl Sandburg’s collection of 103 poems that earned a Pulitzer Prize Special Letters Award in 1919. [chương_files]

African-American Collection, July 2007

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Fiction, Poetry
Chapter: 10 | Listen: 3

This collection recognizes Black History Month, February 2007. Two excellent resources for public domain African American writing are African American Writers (Bookshelf) and The Book of American Negro Poetry, edited by James Weldon Johnson. Johnson’s collection inspired the Harlem Renaissance generation to establish a firm African-American literary tradition in the United States. [chương_files]

Sir Harry Hotspur of Humblethwaite

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Published 1800 - 1900
Chapter: 24 | Listen: 2

Sir Harry Hotspur’s only son and heir dies young which means that the title goes to a cousin, George Hotspur. Sir Harry wants the ancestral property to go to his daughter, Emily, and hopes that a future husband will adopt the family name. George is a charmer but also a spendthrift and a gambler. He sets out to win Emily in order to save himself from bankruptcy – and succeeds, despite Emily knowing he is really unworthy. She is convinced she can save him but has also promised she will not marry without her father’s consent – which of course Sir Harry refuses to give. The book follows their story. (Summary by Simon Evers) [chương_files]

Spirit of Sweetwater

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Published 1800 - 1900
Chapter: 6 | Listen: 4

Clement had unwittingly succeeded where others had failed at mining in the western Colorado mountains. Now he found himself wanting to share his success with some deserving soul, and one day found a young dying woman to whom he seemed inexplicably drawn. However he had a past which his conscience told him must be revealed in order for him to be worthy of a dying woman’s love. Should a man of means expend the effort to clear his conscience in order to attempt a relationship destined to last but a short time? – Summary by Roger Melin [chương_files]

Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Fiction, History, Non-fiction, Teen/Young Adult
Chapter: 1 | Listen: 7

This speech was given March 23, 1775, at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia, and is credited with having singlehandedly convinced the Virginia House of Burgesses to pass a resolution delivering the Virginia troops to the Revolutionary War. In attendance were Thomas Jefferson and George Washington. Reportedly, the crowd, upon hearing the speech, jumped up and shouted, “To Arms! To Arms!” [chương_files]

Pretty Sister Of José

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Published 1800 - 1900, Romance
Chapter: 14 | Listen: 2

Pepita would rather become a witch than a wife. She’s seen too many women, including her mother, wither away at their husband’s hands. Popular and respected, our gentle, but fiercely independent heroine immediately grows cruel and cold to any suitor drawn in by her allure. When a famous bullfighting lady killer from Madrid takes interest in her, will Pepita’s resolve crumble with disastrous consequences? A hit upon its 1899 release, this novella later spawned both a play and silent film adaptation. Despite its public popularity, its (now rather tame) intense love story and positive portrayal of Spaniards drew some controversy from English critics. Summary by Mary Kay. [chương_files]

Selected Lullabies of Eugene Field

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Poetry
Chapter: 12 | Listen: 2

The sweetest songs the world has ever heard are the lullabies that have been crooned above its cradles. The music of Beethoven and Mozart, of Mendelssohn and Schumann may perish, but so long as mothers sing their babies to sleep the melody of cradle lullabies will remain. Of all English and American writers the one who sang most often and most exquisitely these cradle songs was Eugene Field, the children’s poet. His verses not only have charm as poetry, but a distinct song quality and a naive fancy that is both childlike and appealing. That they were written out of Eugene Field’s deep and genuine love of children and out of his sympathetic understanding of their wondering minds is evident from the fact that his lullabies have taken a high and what seems to be a permanent place in the world’s classic literature of childhood. (Excerpted by Becky Miller from the Introduction by Edwin Osgood Grover to “Cradle Lullabies” by Eugene Field, published in 1909) [chương_files]