From AudioFile
One could almost accuse Ruby Dee of being a witch doctor. Her narration of this seminal collection of black American folklore is nothing short of extraordinary. Using varying accents and dialects of the Deep South (Eatonville, Florida), she tells stories, she interrupts, she cuts up, she teases, she banters--she inhabits, not mere characters, but groups of characters--friends and neighbors gathered on the porch, in the dance hall, in a card game, hanging around the country store. Her off-the-beat vocal rhythms and prodigious energy create a narrative drive that propels the listener. And the stories are a treasure--traditional tales, explanatory tales, jokes and one-upmanship contests--here are ordinary people finding joy and comedy in everyday experience. As later African-American literature became increasingly militant, Hurston was accused of turning black experience into a minstrel show. But her accomplishment, unappreciated for fifty years, was in revealing so intimately and eloquently how these people made it through their days--and nights. E.K.D. An AUDIOFILE Earphones Award Winner. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

ANNOTATION

A treasury of black America's folklore collected by the famous storyteller and anthrolopologist who grew up hearing the songs, sermons, and tall tales.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Acclaimed by celebrated folklorist Alan Lomax as 'the most engaging, genuine and skillfully written book in the filed of folklore.' This is Hurston's first great collection of African American tales, songs and sayings.

For the student of cultural history—or anyone who loves a good story well told—this treasury captures the imagination as only great literature can.

FROM THE CRITICS

Mary Helen Washington

A classic in style and form . . . Introduces the reader to the whole world of jook joints, lying contests, and tall tale sessions that make up the drama of the folk life of black people in the rural South.

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING