God's Trombones

James Weldon Johnson (1871-1938) was a revered African American civil rights leader diplomat lawyer novelist poet and songwriter in the Harlem Renaissance. He also coauthored the hymn Lift Every Voice and Sing known as the Black national anthem. <i>God's Trombones</i> one of Johnson's most celebrated works transforms seven uplifting spiritual sermons of African American preachers into poetry. <i>God's Trombones </i>equates the Black oral tradition and its characteristic cadence with the sweeping tonal ranges of the trombone which most closely resembles the human voice. This classic collection includes Listen Lord -- A Prayer; The Creation; The Prodigal Son; Go Down Death -- A Funeral Sermon; Noah Built the Ark; The Crucifixion; Let My People Go; and The Judgment Day.