The Voices From The Past – Hundreds of Testimonies by Former Slaves In One Volume (Annotated)
Enriched Edition. Firsthand Accounts of Slavery, Emancipation, and SurvivalBy Work Projects Administration
Length258h 13m
About this audiobook
The Voices From The Past gathers hundreds of testimonies by formerly enslaved people, preserving memories of bondage, labor, family life, punishment, resistance, emancipation, and survival. Its style is documentary rather than novelistic: oral recollection, regional idiom, interviewer framing, and historical immediacy shape a polyphonic archive. Situated within the literature of slave narrative and American social history, the volume reveals both the power of firsthand witness and the complexities of memory recorded decades after slavery's end. The Work Projects Administration, through its Federal Writers' Project of the 1930s, sponsored the collection of these narratives as part of a broader effort to document American life during the Great Depression. Writers and interviewers, working across the South and beyond, sought to preserve voices often excluded from official history. Their institutional methods were imperfect, yet the resulting archive remains indispensable for understanding slavery's lived realities and afterlives. This book is recommended to readers of history, African American studies, literature, and memory studies who seek an encounter with the past in the words of those who endured it. Read critically and attentively, it offers not only evidence, but an ethical challenge: to listen.
This enriched edition has been carefully crafted to add value to your reading experience.
- An Introduction draws the threads together, discussing why these diverse authors and texts belong in one collection.
- Historical Context explores the cultural and intellectual currents that shaped these works, offering insight into the shared (or contrasting) eras that influenced each writer.
- A combined Synopsis (Selection) briefly outlines the key plots or arguments of the included pieces, helping readers grasp the anthology's overall scope without giving away essential twists.
- A collective Analysis highlights common themes, stylistic variations, and significant crossovers in tone and technique, tying together writers from different backgrounds.
- Reflection questions encourage readers to compare the different voices and perspectives within the collection, fostering a richer understanding of the overarching conversation.
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★★ 4.6 (23)
Includes Amazon
GenreHistory
Length258 hrs 13 mins
Narrated byListen with 1,000+ voices
FormateBook with Audio
Publish dateDec 14, 2023
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1The Voices From The Past – Hundreds of Testimonies by Former Slaves In One Volume (Annotated)
26Amy Chapman
2Introduction
27Emma Chapman
3Historical Context
28Henry Cheatam
4Synopsis (Selection)
29Laura Clark
5The Voices From The Past – Hundreds of Testimonies by Former Slaves In One Volume
30Hattie Clayton
Mostrar todos os capítulosVer menos
6ALABAMA
31Wadley "Shorty" Clemons
7Charlie Aarons
32William Colbert
8Anthony Abercrombie
33Tildy Collins
9Molly Ammond (Ammonds)
34Sara Colquitt
10Charity Anderson
35Mandy McCullough Cosby
11Gus Askew
36Emma Crockett
12Tom Baker
37Cheney Cross
13Henry Barnes
38Matilda Pugh Daniel
14Nathan Beauchamp
39Carrie Davis
15Oliver Bell
40Clara Davis
16Nelson Birdsong
41George Dillard
17Ank Bishop
42Ella Dilliard
18Siney Bonner
43Rufus Dirt
19Jennie Bowen
44Katherine Eppes
20Nannie Bradfield
45Reuben Fitzpatrick
21Martha Bradley
46Heywood Ford
22Allen Brown
47Bert Frederick
23Gus Brown
48Delia Garlic
24Walter Calloway
49Angie Garrett
25Esther King Casey
50Henry Garry
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