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God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse (Penguin Classics)

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James Weldon Johnson was one of the giants of African-American cultural history. A novelist, poet, songwriter, diplomat, educator, and activist, he left behind a towering legacy when he died in 1938. An essential part of that legacy is "God's Trombones," a book in which Johnson pays poetic tribute to the "old-time Negro preacher."

"God's Trombones" contains seven poems, each of which is inspired by the art of the classic African-American sermon. Most of Johnson's poems retell Bible stories. "The Creation," "Noah Built the Ark," "Let My People Go," and more--each one carries the reader to the traditional Black churches of Johnson's era. In his preface Johnson discusses the cultural significance of the traditional African-American religious orator and also reflects on his own literary strategies in the construction of these poems.

Johnson's poems beg to be read aloud. Whatever your own ethnic heritage or religious inclination, try giving voice to these masterworks: you'll be amazed at the effect. If you are a lover of Christian inspirational writing, a scholar of African-American culture, or a person who appreciates great poetry, "God's Trombones" would make a fine addition to your library.

Many times I have used the poems from this book as dramatic readings and audiences have always responded in positive ways. The majesty of the words and the profound experiences that they describe bring peace to the soul. The first time I read this book was in 1960. It had a tremendous impact on me then and continues to minister to me even now. Real truth will do that. It never goes out of date.

James Weldon Johnson (1871 -- 1938) is best-known as the author of "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the "Negro National Anthem" written in 1900 for Lincoln's birthday. Johnson had extraordinary gifts as a poet. His celebration of the African-American preacher in God's Trombones, published in 1927, is a masterpiece of American poetry.

Johnson was inspired to write "God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse " after hearing a stirring African-American preacher in Kansas City in 1918. Johnson wrote seven free-verse poems on biblical themes to capture the rhythm, content, language and religious commitment of the African-American preacher. Johnson also wrote a celebrated prose introduction to the book in which he described the place of the preacher in African-American life and explained his decision not to use dialect in writing the poems. Johnson also explained why he used the trombone as the guiding figure of his poem. Johnson wrote of his experience with the Kansas City preacher:

"He strode the pulpit up and down in what was actually a very rhythmic voice, a voice -- what shall I say? -- not of an organ or a trumpet, but rather of a trombone, the instrument possessing above all others the power to express the wide and varied range of emotions encompassed by the human voice -- and with greater amplitude. He intoned, he moaned, he pleaded, -- he blared, he crashed, he thundered. ... [T]he emotional effect upon me was irresistable."

The poetry opens with a short preliminary call to prayer, "Listen, Lord" followed by the seven sermons. The sermons open with the preacher's account of "The Creation"; and they conclude with a sermon on the end of days, "The Judgment Day". Four of the remaining poems deal with Biblical subjects, "The Prodigal Son", "Noah Built the Ark", "The Crucifixion", and "Let my People Go", the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The remaining sermon "Go down death -- a Funeral Sermon" is a meditation on the death of an elderly woman in Georgia who, in the preacher's language, is carried by Death to the throne of Jesus. The poems are in free verse, move in an elevated and lively style, include vivid imagery, and a sense of rhythmic speech and propulsion. It is useful to read them aloud. The poems make use effective use of repetition. Look at "The Crucifixion", for example, and see the many different adjectives Johnson applies to the figure of Jesus. The opening lines of the first three stanzas alone refer to "my gentle Jesus", "my burdened Jesus" and "my sorrowing Jesus". Each of the poems conclude with a short and effective exhortation to the listener. Thus, in the final words of the final poem, "The Judgment Day":

"Sinner, oh sinner,
Where will you stand,
In that great day when God's a-going to rain down fire?"

These poems are short and the book can be read quickly. But they will have a long-lived impact on the reader. This book would make an excellent introduction to poetry for young people. And Johnson has given a lasting and eloquent treatment to the art and spirit of the African-American preacher.

I read this book two years ago as a freshman in college. The poems touched me so much that I still continue to read them. Through this book James Weldon Johnson has retold familar Bible stories in a new light. He has captured the spirit of an oral tradition and has preserved this great tradition for future generations. I would highly reccomend this book to people of all ages and all backgrounds!

God's Trombones is a beautiful expression of the themes of the Southern black experience and God's constant, personal presence in their lives. The themes he chose were expressed in sermons and in Gospel music. For the black person, God was aware of their struggles, would bring them out of "Egypt" (slavery) and would eventually take them to their home "over Jordan". Death would be a gentle freedom for those who were weary (as in "Go down Death").

Johnson's introduction explains that he was trying to express the fervant Southern black preacher with his pauses and emphases. He has done both well.

This is a book to be read for its beauty and inspiration, but more important, it shows (theological inaccuracies aside) how an oppressed people trusted in God's gentle hand, and God's constant love for even the "least" of his Creation.

I recommend this for historians, teachers, lovers of poetry, and for its spiritual content, anyone seeking inspiration.

My dad teaches Sunday School and was looking for this book to incorporate into his lesson plans. I found it here at Amazon and fell in love with this book. Absolutely wonderful to read and very profound. Exceptional!

When I was a youngster, we all knew of these poems. "The Creation" was, in fact, a standard part of the 10th-grade English curriculum and was one of the most often selected pieces for what was then called "dramatic recitation." (This was in Oklahoma, Alabama and South Carolina in the late 1950's and early 1960's.)

Now I cannot find anyone much under the age of 50 who has ever heard of them. This is but one of a great many tragic cultural losses of our time.

The poems evoke those trombone-like voices of Black preachers ringing with their simple themes, imaginative colorations, and powerful deliveries contrasting the pain of mortal life with the glory and joy of the eternal one. With their plaints and affirmations, their truths and contradictions, they embody a crucial aspect of the American heritage.

Moving? "Powerful" hardly expresses it. When I first acquired the book, I read to my wife the poem, "Go Down Death -- A Funeral Sermon." We were in the car on the way home from the bookstore. We had to stop at the mall for her to make a purchase, and she had to wait in the car while she dried her eyes before going in.

These poems cannot be allowed to be forgotten. They just cannot.

This book highlights the amazing talents of Johnson. The depth and grandeur of the poetry included will touch your soul. The portraits that are painted throught his words are fluid yet profound. You cannot help but to be completely engulfed by the imagery. He maintains a high artistic level of quality without ever diluting the most important messages that are meant to be conveyed to the reader. I honestly feel that these poems/sermons are a must read for everyone, REGARDLESS of there heritage.

This is a wonderful work of poetry written by a man who has been forgotten so much over the years. The seven works are all based on the Bible, but please don't feel that you have go be deeply religious to enjoy and fall in love with this book. Mr. Johnson's use of language is so vivid, for instance, "darker than a hundred midnights down in a cypress swamp" from The Creation, that one just can't stop reading and loving the beautiful and lyrical words. Please read and enjoy.

My soul is galvanized everytime I hear or read James Weldon Johnson's God's Trombones. I have directed student perfomances of this deeply moving African American text. "The Crucifixion," for example, tells the story of how Jesus Christ, my Lord, my Savior,my Friend, suffered death on an old cross so that I might have an opportunity to be more sensitive to the hurting. The "Prodigal Son" urges me to experience and, thus understand, that I must live with a redemptive consiousness. And, of course, I am compelled to understand, through the poem "Go Down Death" this reality: God does call His children home. Those who have suffered "long in the vineyard" are deserving of rest. For sure, God's Trombones is a poetic tribute to an experience that is Christian and African American. I thank James Welson Johnson for creating this poetic masterpiece. Let's continue to read it; let's perform it. Let's live within the context of the spirituality of the voice. Amen!