Each week a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many Librivox volunteers as possible!
This week we read Mother Night by James Weldon Johnson as Black History Month comes to a close in the United States. Mr. Johnson was a very talented man and it is worth taking a moment to view a brief biography of him at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Weldon_Johnson
His poem can be found on Bartleby: http://www.bartleby.com/269/43.html
Interestingly, Black History Month has also been established in the UK during the month of October. It has become a worldwide observation!
At the beginning, read the abbreviated "librivox disclaimer":Mother Night
By James Weldon Johnson
ETERNITIES before the first-born day,
Or ere the first sun fledged his wings of flame,
Calm Night, the everlasting and the same,
A brooding mother over chaos lay.
And whirling suns shall blaze and then decay,
Shall run their fiery courses and then claim
The haven of the darkness whence they came;
Back to Nirvanic peace shall grope their way.
So when my feeble sun of life burns out,
And sounded is the hour for my long sleep,
I shall, full weary of the feverish light,
Welcome the darkness without fear or doubt,
And heavy-lidded, I shall softly creep
Into the quiet bosom of the Night.
Mother Night by James Weldon Johnson, read for librivox.org by [your name]" or some variation on that, adding date, location, your personal url, if you wish.
At the End say: End of poem.
Save your recording as an mp3 file using the following filename and ID3 tag format:
File name ? all in lowercase: mother_night_johnson_[your initials].mp3
ID-3 tags:
Title: Mother Night - Read by [your initials]
Artist: James Weldon Johnson
Album: LibriVox Weekly Poetry
Please be sure that your recording software is set to the following technical specifications:
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44100 kHzs
You may either post a link to your completed files here in the thread or email them to me via http://www.yousendit.com/ at this address: reader AT climber53 DOT com. If you use yousendit, it is also a good idea to post the link it generates in this thread as well.
When you post your link, please include your name as you would like it credited on the catalog page and any URL by which you would like it accompanied.
If you wish to contribute, please have your readings submitted by 3:00 p.m. PST on Saturday, March 4th (that's 23.00 gmt, on the same day).
Enjoy!
(And remember, anyone who submits a recording can choose the next weekly poem! If you'd like to suggest a poem or coordinate a future Weekly Poetry project, please visit this thread: http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1114)