Poems by a Slave
George Moses Horton
Read by Elsie Selwyn
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This book of poems, published originally in 1829 and reprinted in 1837, was the second book written by George M. Horton. It addresses themes of love, Christianity, slavery, death, and nature.
Horton was remarkable for several reasons: he was the first Black person and the first enslaved person to publish a book in the United States. He was the first enslaved person to protest their bondage through poetry. He is also the author of the first book of literature published in North Carolina. Horton attempted to gain enough money from publishing his poetry to buy his freedom. Unfortunately, this did not work, and Horton remained enslaved until 1865 when he was 67 years old. He traveled to Philadelphia but, disappointed with the racial discrimination even in the North, he emigrated to Liberia in 1867. - Summary by Elsie Selwyn (0 hr 47 min)
Chapters
Explanation and Preface to the Second Edition | 6:47 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
Praise of Creation | 2:32 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On the Silence of a Young Lady | 2:18 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
The Lover's Farewell | 1:42 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On Liberty and Slavery | 2:05 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
To Eliza | 1:12 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
Love | 1:16 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On the Death of an Infant | 1:09 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
The Slave's Complaint | 1:23 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On the Truth of the Saviour | 1:57 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On Spring | 2:08 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On Summer | 2:32 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On Winter | 2:02 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
Heavenly Love | 1:26 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On the Death of Rebecca | 2:05 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On Death | 2:12 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On the Evening and Morning | 2:05 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
On the Poetic Muse | 1:36 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
Consequences of Happy Marriages | 2:27 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
Lines | 3:12 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
To the Gad-Fly | 1:53 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |
The Loss of Female Character | 1:46 | Read by Elsie Selwyn |