EVERY TONGUE GOT TO CONFESS

NEGRO FOLK-TALES FROM THE GULF STATES

by Zora Neale Hurston ; edited by Carla Kaplan ; Read by Ruby Dee & Ossie Davis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 22, 2001

Traveling alone through the southern United States in the early part of the twentieth century, Barnard scholar Zora Neale Hurston meticulously collected the stories and anecdotes told by this country's African Americans. Her work, recorded word by word in transcripts, lay largely unpublished for decades. Now Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis bring it to life in a stunning audio production that captures the richness of the language as well as the culture behind the stories. Listening to their performance is like listening to the original story-tellers sharing "lies" with friends on a warm summer evening. Given the spoken nature of folklore, theexcellent audio rendition can only improve on the original written publication. A foreword by John Edgar Wideman and an introduction by Carla Kaplan provide fascinating insight into both the collection and the recording of the stories, as well as their place in African-American history. A cultural treasure. R.P.L. 2003 Audie Award Finalist (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine

Pub Date: 2001

Duration: 9 hrs

Publisher: Harper Audio

Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026

Categories:

GENERAL FICTION