1919

Award-winning poet Eve L. Ewing narrates her provocative poetry, which uncovers the race riots of 1919 in Chicago. In the beginning she sounds like she is reading. She's clear and speaks at a moderate pace, emphasizing certain words. Then her tone begins to change. The rhythm in her voice creates its own melody. As she progresses, she becomes spritely at times. The ebb and flow of energy in her reading includes an onset of repetition, lullaby singing, and cultural vernacular. Ewing is youthful in her lullabies but clearly an adult in her descriptions when she speaks of the drowning of Eugene Williams and the onset of violent acts. The poetic magnetism in her narration brings the Red Summer of 1919 to life. T.E.C. © AudioFile 2020, Portland, Maine [Published: JANUARY 2020]