Three Poets of the Harlem Renaissance: Langston Hughes, Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Countee Cullen

The intellectual and cultural revival of African-American arts and politics in the 1920s and 1930s was centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. Here are poems from three major contributors to that rebirth: The Weary Blues by Langston Hughes, The Heart of a Woman and Other Poems by Georgia Douglas Johnson, and Copper Sun by Countee Cullen, delivered by three multiaward-winning narrators.

About the Author :
Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880-1966) was one of the earliest female African-American playwrights, a poet, and an important figure in the Harlem Renaissance. She hosted weekly salons for fellow writers and friends including, most notably, Langston Hughes and Jean Toomer, among other major contributors to the Harlem Renaissance. Countee Cullen (1903-1946) was an American poet, novelist, children's writer, and playwright particularly well known during the Harlem Renaissance. Cullen published five volumes of poetry, two children's books, and a Broadway musical. James Mercer Langston Hughes (1902-1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is the author of more than sixty books. He is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance. Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic's Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors' unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England. Kevin Kenerly, an Earphones Award-winning narrator, earned a BA at Olivet College. A longtime member of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he has acted in more than twenty seasons, playing dozens of roles. Ron Butler is a Los Angeles-based actor, Earphones Award-winning audiobook narrator, and voice artist with over a hundred film and television credits. Most kids will recognize him from the three seasons he spent on Nickelodeon's True Jackson, VP. He works regularly as a commercial and animation voice-over artist and has voiced a wide variety of audiobooks. He is a member of the Atlantic Theater Company and an Independent Filmmaker Project Award winner for his work in the HBO film Everyday People.

Review :
"Narrator Ron Butler accentuates the classical tones and themes of Countee Cullen. Robin Miles finds the warmth and intelligence in Georgia Douglas Johnson's best work. And Kevin Kenerly captures Langston Hughes's distinct groundbreaking jazz rhythms...As performed by these fine narrators, the poems sound as fresh, fabulous, and necessary as they did 100 years ago. A wonderful introduction to a vital literary world. Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award." -- "AudioFile"