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God's Trombones

January 01, 1970

God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse is a 1927 book of poems by James Weldon Johnson patterned after traditional African-American religious oratory. African-American scholars Henry Louis Gates and Cornel West have identified the collection as one of Johnson's two most notable works, the other being Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man.[1]

The cover to the 1927 edition of God's Trombones: Seven Negro Sermons in Verse by James Weldon Johnson, with artwork by Aaron Douglas

Origins edit

Johnson observed an absence of attention in folklore studies to what he called a "folk sermon," then went on to describe its nature and specific examples from his memory:[2]

I remember hearing in my boyhood sermons that were current, sermons that passed with only slight modifications from preacher to preacher and from locality to locality. Such sermons were: "The Valley of Dry Bones," which was based on the vision of the prophet in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel; the "Train Sermon," in which both God and the devil were pictured as running trains, one loaded with saints, that pulled up in heaven, and the other with sinners, that dumped its load in hell; the "Heavenly March," which gave in detail the journey of the faithful from earth, on up through the pearly gates to the great white throne. Then there was a stereotyped sermon which had no definite subject, and which was quite generally preached; it began with the Creation, went on to the fall of man, rambled through the trials and tribulations of the Hebrew Children, came down to the redemption by Christ, and ended with the Judgment Day and a warning and an exhortation to sinners.

Johnson explains the title's use of the trombone by discussing the vocal and rhetorical qualities of a preacher he had recently heard who, he felt, exemplified the compelling and persuasive nature of the folk preacher, naming the trombone as "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."[3] He also cited a dictionary definition that noted the trombone as being the brass instrument most resembling the range and sound of the human voice.

The seven poems were composed primarily in 1926, with "Go Down[,] Death" being composed in the space of a single afternoon on Thanksgiving Day, 1926, and the remaining five poems during a two-week retreat;[4] "The Creation," the first poem of the set, had been composed about 1919.[5]

Reception edit

The work went on to find acclaim in many circles,[6] proving "enormously popular among both the black cognoscenti as well of the masses of black Americans" and being used widely in oratorical contests; poet Owen Dodson wrote Johnson in 1932 to tell him that Dodson and his brother had taken first and second place in a poetry-recitation competition with works from that volume.[7]

Gates and West particularly note that the work "attempts a mimetic capturing of the black church sermon... without making recourse to the misspellings and orthographic tricks often employed in representing black vernacular speech."[8] Dorothy Canfield Fisher, in a personal letter to the poet to thank him and offer to help promote the collection, praised the work as "heart-shakingly beautiful and original, with the peculiar piercing tenderness and intimacy which seems to me special gifts of the Negro. ...it is a profound satisfaction to find those special qualities so exquisitely expressed."[9]

The poem "The Creation" was used in the 1951 film Five, serving as the soliloquy for the character Charles, played by African-American actor Charles Lampkin. Lampkin convinced film-maker Arch Oboler to include excerpts of the poem in the final script of Five where it would become Lampkin's soliloquy for his character Charles. This may be the first time that audiences in the USA, Latin America, and Europe were exposed to African-American poetry, albeit not identified as such in the film.[10][11]

Poems edit

The book comprises eight poems:

  • "Listen, Lord — A Prayer" – an invocation
  • "The Creation" – A narrative retelling of the creation of human as told in the Bible. Instead of being a distant force, the Creator character is imbued with personality and speaks in familiar language.
  • "The Prodigal Son" – from the biblical parable of the prodigal son
  • "Go Down Death — A Funeral Sermon" – in which Jesus is depicted as sending his servant, Death, to bring to heaven a weary woman who is old and ready to die, so that she can rest
  • "Noah Built the Ark" – retelling the biblical stories of Adam and Eve, a story of how sin entered the world, and of Noah and the Great Flood sent to cleanse the earth
  • "The Crucifixion" – telling the story of Jesus' crucifixion
  • "Let My People Go" – telling the biblical story of Moses and his work freeing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt, which has often been the basis of comparisons to the African-American slavery experience in the United States
  • "The Judgment Day" – the prophetic story of the Apocalypse

Notes edit

  1. ^ Gates & West 2002, p. 60.
  2. ^ Johnson 1964, pp. 1–2.
  3. ^ Johnson 1964, pp. 7.
  4. ^ Byrd 2008, p. 144.
  5. ^ The Creation, illustrated by James E. Ransome, Holiday House, 1994, flyleaf, ISBN 9780823410699{{citation}}: CS1 maint: others (link).
  6. ^ Price, Kenneth M; Oliver, Lawrence J (1997), Critical essays on James Weldon Johnson, GK Hall, p. 4, ISBN 9780783800332, In contrast to [his previous scholarly publication] Fifty Years, God's Trombones... was a critical and popular success.
  7. ^ Byrd 2008, p. 145.
  8. ^ Gates & West 2002, p. 62.
  9. ^ Fisher, Dorothy Canfield (1993), Madison, Mark J (ed.), Keeping fires night and day: selected letters of Dorothy Canfield Fisher, University of Missouri Press, p. 127, ISBN 9780826208842.
  10. ^ Bruno, Daniel; et al. "5ive". Charles Lampkin Foundation. Retrieved November 19, 2017.
  11. ^ Sanz, Daniel Bruno (November 17, 2011) [September 5, 2009]. "Bad Dreams From My Grandfather". The Blog. HuffPost. Retrieved November 19, 2017.

Bibliography edit

  • Byrd, Rudolf, ed. (2008), The essential writings of James Weldon Johnson, Random House, ISBN 9781588368164.
  • Gates, Henry Louis; West, Cornel (2002), The African-American century: how Black Americans have shaped our country, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 9780684864150.
  • Johnson, James Weldon (1964) [1927], God's trombones: seven negro sermons in verse (hardback), Douglas, Aaron Ill; Falls, CB lettering, New York: Viking.

External links edit

January 01, 1970
trombones, seven, negro, sermons, verse, 1927, book, poems, james, weldon, johnson, patterned, after, traditional, african, american, religious, oratory, african, american, scholars, henry, louis, gates, cornel, west, have, identified, collection, johnson, mos. God s Trombones Seven Negro Sermons in Verse is a 1927 book of poems by James Weldon Johnson patterned after traditional African American religious oratory African American scholars Henry Louis Gates and Cornel West have identified the collection as one of Johnson s two most notable works the other being Autobiography of an Ex Colored Man 1 The cover to the 1927 edition of God s Trombones Seven Negro Sermons in Verse by James Weldon Johnson with artwork by Aaron Douglas Contents 1 Origins 2 Reception 3 Poems 4 Notes 5 Bibliography 6 External linksOrigins editJohnson observed an absence of attention in folklore studies to what he called a folk sermon then went on to describe its nature and specific examples from his memory 2 I remember hearing in my boyhood sermons that were current sermons that passed with only slight modifications from preacher to preacher and from locality to locality Such sermons were The Valley of Dry Bones which was based on the vision of the prophet in the 37th chapter of Ezekiel the Train Sermon in which both God and the devil were pictured as running trains one loaded with saints that pulled up in heaven and the other with sinners that dumped its load in hell the Heavenly March which gave in detail the journey of the faithful from earth on up through the pearly gates to the great white throne Then there was a stereotyped sermon which had no definite subject and which was quite generally preached it began with the Creation went on to the fall of man rambled through the trials and tribulations of the Hebrew Children came down to the redemption by Christ and ended with the Judgment Day and a warning and an exhortation to sinners Johnson explains the title s use of the trombone by discussing the vocal and rhetorical qualities of a preacher he had recently heard who he felt exemplified the compelling and persuasive nature of the folk preacher naming the trombone as 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 3 He also cited a dictionary definition that noted the trombone as being the brass instrument most resembling the range and sound of the human voice The seven poems were composed primarily in 1926 with Go Down Death being composed in the space of a single afternoon on Thanksgiving Day 1926 and the remaining five poems during a two week retreat 4 The Creation the first poem of the set had been composed about 1919 5 Reception editThe work went on to find acclaim in many circles 6 proving enormously popular among both the black cognoscenti as well of the masses of black Americans and being used widely in oratorical contests poet Owen Dodson wrote Johnson in 1932 to tell him that Dodson and his brother had taken first and second place in a poetry recitation competition with works from that volume 7 Gates and West particularly note that the work attempts a mimetic capturing of the black church sermon without making recourse to the misspellings and orthographic tricks often employed in representing black vernacular speech 8 Dorothy Canfield Fisher in a personal letter to the poet to thank him and offer to help promote the collection praised the work as heart shakingly beautiful and original with the peculiar piercing tenderness and intimacy which seems to me special gifts of the Negro it is a profound satisfaction to find those special qualities so exquisitely expressed 9 The poem The Creation was used in the 1951 film Five serving as the soliloquy for the character Charles played by African American actor Charles Lampkin Lampkin convinced film maker Arch Oboler to include excerpts of the poem in the final script of Five where it would become Lampkin s soliloquy for his character Charles This may be the first time that audiences in the USA Latin America and Europe were exposed to African American poetry albeit not identified as such in the film 10 11 Poems editThe book comprises eight poems Listen Lord A Prayer an invocation The Creation A narrative retelling of the creation of human as told in the Bible Instead of being a distant force the Creator character is imbued with personality and speaks in familiar language The Prodigal Son from the biblical parable of the prodigal son Go Down Death A Funeral Sermon in which Jesus is depicted as sending his servant Death to bring to heaven a weary woman who is old and ready to die so that she can rest Noah Built the Ark retelling the biblical stories of Adam and Eve a story of how sin entered the world and of Noah and the Great Flood sent to cleanse the earth The Crucifixion telling the story of Jesus crucifixion Let My People Go telling the biblical story of Moses and his work freeing the Hebrew slaves from Egypt which has often been the basis of comparisons to the African American slavery experience in the United States The Judgment Day the prophetic story of the ApocalypseNotes edit Gates amp West 2002 p 60 Johnson 1964 pp 1 2 Johnson 1964 pp 7 Byrd 2008 p 144 The Creation illustrated by James E Ransome Holiday House 1994 flyleaf ISBN 9780823410699 a href Template Citation html title Template Citation citation a CS1 maint others link Price Kenneth M Oliver Lawrence J 1997 Critical essays on James Weldon Johnson GK Hall p 4 ISBN 9780783800332 In contrast to his previous scholarly publication Fifty Years God s Trombones was a critical and popular success Byrd 2008 p 145 Gates amp West 2002 p 62 Fisher Dorothy Canfield 1993 Madison Mark J ed Keeping fires night and day selected letters of Dorothy Canfield Fisher University of Missouri Press p 127 ISBN 9780826208842 Bruno Daniel et al 5ive Charles Lampkin Foundation Retrieved November 19 2017 Sanz Daniel Bruno November 17 2011 September 5 2009 Bad Dreams From My Grandfather The Blog HuffPost Retrieved November 19 2017 Bibliography editByrd Rudolf ed 2008 The essential writings of James Weldon Johnson Random House ISBN 9781588368164 Gates Henry Louis West Cornel 2002 The African American century how Black Americans have shaped our country Simon amp Schuster ISBN 9780684864150 Johnson James Weldon 1964 1927 God s trombones seven negro sermons in verse hardback Douglas Aaron Ill Falls CB lettering New York Viking External links editJohnson James Weldon 1927 God s Trombones electronic Documenting the American South project complete University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill God s Trombones at Google Books Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title God 27s Trombones amp oldid 1192675006, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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