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Hughes writes a story about a boy who "becomes a Christian" in a Church revival.  All the other children walk to the front to profess faith in Jesus except for him and one other boy.  The two of them eventually go down anyways even though neither of them believe it is true.  They do this so the members of the Church will stop singing and praying.  Langston was pressured into Christianity, which is not true Christianity at all. I actually came to faith in Christ with the help of my parents. We were in my living room, not a loud church. My mom was reading this devotion at the time.

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The short story written by Glaspell is about the search for evidence following a murder. The male characters in the story are looking for evidence, but they do not find any. The women are the ones who find evidence.  Instead of giving the evidence to the law enforcement agents, who also happen to be their husbands, they decided to make a controversial stand and keep their findings a secret.  As a kid, I used to read the Hardy Boys books. Frank and Joe Hardy were always investigating and looking for clues.

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The story told by Alice Walker is about the relationship between two daughters and a mother. The one daughter, Dee, is very different from her mother and sister because she is educated. Her mother and sister are not.  Their African heritage is a topic of contention for the three.  Dee claims she is educated and knows their family heritage. The mother and sister (who are uneducated) say they know their heritage because they understand their ancestors.  Lopez Lomong is from Sudan, and he had his heritage stolen from him by soldiers.  Through amazing events and the hand of God, Lopez is able to become a world class runner who eventually goes back to Africa to see the heritage he lost so long ago.

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#11 Theodore Roethke & "My Papa's Waltz"

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#11 Theodore Roethke & "My Papa's Waltz"

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Roethke writes a poem about the "waltz" he does with his father.  The "waltz" is actually a routine the father has of drinking alcohol and beating his son. A modern day example of this is with former President Bill Clinton whose step father was reportedly an alcoholic who was abusive towards him.

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Amy Tan writes a short story about the relationship between a mother and a daughter.  The mother tries to impose upon the daughter the label of a "prodigy".  No matter how hard the daughter tries to show she does not want the label, the mother does not recognize it.  Their relationship becomes filled with tension. A successful child prodigy, other than Shirley Temple, is Wolfgang Mozart. He began composing at a very young age.

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Synopsis

Born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musician capable of playing multiple instruments who started playing in public at the age of 6. Over the years, Mozart aligned himself with a variety of European venues and patrons, composing hundreds of works that included sonatas, symphonies, masses, chamber music, concertos and operas, marked by vivid emotion and sophisticated textures.

Early Life

Central Europe in the mid-18th century was going through a period of transition. The remnants of the Holy Roman Empire had divided into small semi-self-governing principalities. The result was competing rivalries between these municipalities for identity and recognition. Political leadership of small city-states like Salzburg, Vienna, and Prague was in the hands of the aristocracy and their wealth would commission artists and musicians to amuse, inspire, and entertain. The music of the Renaissance and Baroque periods was transitioning toward more full-bodied compositions with complex instrumentation. The small city-state of Salzburg would be the birthplace of one of the most talented and prodigious musical composers of all time.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's was the sole-surviving son of Leopold and Maria Pertl Mozart. Leopold was a successful composer, violinist, and assistant concert master at the Salzburg court. Wolfgang's mother, Anna Maria Pertl, was born to a middle class family of local community leaders. His only sister was Maria Anna (nicknamed "Nannerl"). With their father's encouragement and guidance, they both were introduced to music at an early age. Leopold started Nannerl on keyboard when she was seven, as three-year old Wolfgang looked on. Mimicking her playing, Wolfgang quickly began to show a strong understanding of chords, tonality, and tempo. Soon, he too was being tutored by his father.

Leopold was a devoted and task-oriented teacher to both his children. He made the lessons fun, but also insisted on a strong work ethic and perfection. Fortunately, both children excelled well in these areas. Recognizing their special talents, Leopold devoted much of his time to their education in music as well as other subjects. Wolfgang soon showed signs of excelling beyond his father's teachings with an early composition at age five and demonstrating outstanding ability on harpsichord and the violin. He would soon go on to play the piano, organ and viola.

In 1762, Wolfgang's father took Nannerl, now age eleven, and Wolfgang, age six to the court of Bavaria in Munich in what was to become the first of several European "tours." The siblings traveled to the courts of Paris, London, The Hague, and Zurich performing as child prodigies. Wolfgang met a number of accomplished musicians and became familiar with their works. Particularity important was his meeting with Johann Christian Bach (Johann Sebastian Bach's youngest son) in London who had a strong influence on Wolfgang. The trips were long and often arduous, traveling in primitive conditions and waiting for invitations and reimbursements from the nobility. Frequently, Wolfgang and other members of his family fell seriously ill and had to limit their performance schedule.

Budding Young Composer

In December, 1769, Wolfgang, then age 13, and his father departed from Salzburg for Italy, leaving his mother and sister at home. It seems that by this time Nannerl's professional music career was over. She was nearing marriageable age and according to the custom of the time, she was no longer permitted to show her artistic talent in public. The Italian outing was longer than the others (1769-1771) as Leopold wanted to display his son's abilities as a performer and composer to as many new audiences as possible. While in Rome, Wolfgang heard Gregorio Allegri's Miserere performed once in the Sistine Chapel. He wrote out the entire score from memory, returning only to correct a few minor errors. During this time Wolfgang also wrote a new opera, Mitridate, re di Ponto for the court of Milan. Other commissions followed and in subsequent trips to Italy, Wolfgang wrote two other operas, Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father returned from their last stay in Italy in March, 1773. His father's benefactor, Archbishop von Schrattenbach had died and was succeeded by Hieronymus von Colleredo. Upon their return, the new archbishop appointed young Mozart as assistant concertmaster with a small salary. During this time, young Mozart had the opportunity to work in several different musical genres composing symphonies, string quartets, sonatas and serenades and a few operas. He developed a passion for violin concertos producing what came to be the only five he wrote. In 1776, he turned his efforts toward piano concertos, culminating in the Piano Concerto Number 9 in E flat major in early 1777. Wolfgang had just turned 21.

Despite his success with the compositions, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was growing discontent with his position as assistant concert master and the confining environment of Salzburg. He was ambitious and believed he could do more somewhere else. Archbishop von Colloredo was becoming inpatient with the young genius's complaining and immature attitude. In August 1777, Mozart set out on a trip to find more prosperous employment. The archbishop wouldn't give Leopold permission to travel, so Anna Maria accompanied Wolfgang on his quest to the cities of Mannheim, Paris and Munich. There were several employment positions that initially proved promising, but all eventually fell through. He began to run out of funds and had to pawn several valuable personal items to pay traveling and living expenses. The lowest point of the trip was when his mother fell ill and died on July 3, 1778. After hearing the news of his wife's death, Leopold negotiated a better post for his son as court organist in Salzburg and Wolfgang returned soon after.

Making it in Vienna

Back in Salzburg in 1779, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart produced a series of church works, including the Coronation Mass. He also composed another opera for Munich, Ideomeneo in 1781. In March of that year, Mozart was summoned to Vienna by Archbishop von Colloredo, who was attending the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne. The Archbishop's cool reception toward Mozart offended him. He was treated as a mere servant, quartered with the help, and forbidden from performing before the Emperor for a fee equal to half his yearly salary in Salzburg. A quarrel ensued and Mozart offered to resign his post. The Archbishop refused at first, but then relented with an abrupt dismissal and physical removal from the Archbishop's presence. Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer and for a time lived with friends at the home of Fridolin Weber.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart quickly found work in Vienna, taking on pupils, writing music for publication, and playing in several concerts. He also began writing an opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). In the summer of 1781, it was rumored that Mozart was contemplating marriage to Fridolin Weber's daughter, Constanze. Knowing his father would disapprove of the marriage and the interruption in his career, young Mozart quickly wrote his father denying any idea of marriage. But by December, he was asking for his father's blessings. While it's known that Leopold disapproved, what is not known is the discussion between father and son as Leopold's letters were said to be destroyed by Constanze. However, later correspondence from Wolfgang indicated that he and his father disagreed considerably on this matter. He was in love with Constanze and the marriage was being strongly encouraged by her mother, so in some sense, he felt committed. The couple was finally married on August 4, 1782. In the meantime, Leopold did finally consent to the marriage. Constanze and Wolfgang had six children, though only two survived infancy, Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver.

As 1782 turned to 1783, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart became enthralled with the work of Johannes Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel and this, in turn, resulted in several compositions in the Baroque style and influenced much of his later compositions, such as passages in Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute) and the finale of Symphony Number 41. During this time, Mozart met Joseph Haydn and the two composers became admiring friends. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes performed impromptu concerts with string quartets. Between 1782 and 1785 Mozart wrote six quartets dedicated to Haydn.

European Fame

The opera Die Entführung enjoyed immediate and continuing success and bolstered Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's name and talent throughout Europe. With the substantial returns from concerts and publishing, he and Constanze enjoyed a lavish lifestyle. They lived in one of the more exclusive apartment buildings of Vienna, sent their son, Karl Thomas, to an expensive boarding school, kept servants, and maintained a busy social life. In 1783, Mozart and Constanze traveled Salzburg, to visit his father and sister. The visit was somewhat cool, as Leopold was still a reluctant father-in-law and Nannerl was a dutiful daughter. But the stay promoted Mozart to begin writing a mass in C Minor, of which only the first two sections, "Kyrie" and "Gloria," were completed. In 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, a fraternal order focused on charitable work, moral uprightness, and the development of fraternal friendship. Mozart was well regarded in the Freemason community, attending meetings and being involved in various functions. Freemasonry also became a strong influence in Mozart's music.

From 1782 to 1785, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart divided his time between self-produced concerts as soloist, presenting three to four new piano concertos in each season. Theater space for rent in Vienna was sometimes hard to come by, so Mozart booked himself in unconventional venues such as large rooms in apartment buildings and ballrooms of expensive restaurants. The year 1784, proved the most prolific in Mozart's performance life. During one five-week period, he appeared in 22 concerts, including five he produced and performed as the soloist. In a typical concert, he would play a selection of existing and improvisational pieces and his various piano concertos. Other times he would conduct performances of his symphonies. The concerts were very well attended as Mozart enjoyed a unique connection with his audiences who were, in the words of Mozart biographer Maynard Solomon, "given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre." During this time, Mozart also began to keep a catalog of his own music, perhaps indicating an awareness of his place in musical history.

By the mid-1780s, Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart's extravagant lifestyle was beginning to take its toll. Despite his success as a pianist and composer, Mozart was falling into serious financial difficulties. Mozart associated himself with aristocratic Europeans and felt he should live like one. He figured that the best way to attain a more stable and lucrative income would be through court appointment. However, this wouldn't be easy with the court's musical preference bent toward Italian composers and the influence of Kapellmeister Antonio Salieri. Mozart's relationship with Salieri has been the subject of speculation and legend. Letters written between Mozart and his father, Leopold, indicate that the two felt a rivalry for and mistrust of the Italian musicians in general and Salieri in particular. Decades after Mozart's death, rumors spread that Salieri had poisoned him. This rumor was made famous in 20th century playwright Peter Shaffer's Amadeus and in the 1984 film of the same name by director Milos Foreman. But in truth there is no basis for this speculation. Though both composers were often in contention for the same job and public attention, there is little evidence that their relationship was anything beyond a typical professional rivalry. Both admired each other's work and at one point even collaborated on a cantata for voice and piano called Per la recuperate salute di Ophelia.

Toward the end of 1785, Mozart met the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, a Venetian composer and poet and together they collaborated on the opera The Marriage of Figaro. It received a successful premier in Vienna in 1786 and was even more warmly received in Prague later that year. This triumph led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte on the opera Don Giovanni which premiered in 1787 to high acclaim in Prague. Noted for their musical complexity, the two operas are among Mozart's most important works and are mainstays in operatic repertoire today. Both compositions feature the wicked nobleman, though Figaro is presented more in comedy and portrays strong social tension. Perhaps the central achievement of both operas lies in their ensembles with their close link between music and dramatic meaning.

Later Years

In December, 1787, Emperor Joseph II appointed Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as his "chamber composer," a post that had opened up with the death of Gluck. The gesture was as much an honor bestowed on Mozart as it was incentive to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna for greener pastures. It was a part-time appointment with low pay, but it required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls. The modest income was a welcome windfall for Mozart, who was struggling with debt, and provided him the freedom to explore more of his personal musical ambitions.

Toward the end of the 1780s, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's fortunes began to grow worse. He was performing less and his income shrank. Austria was at war and both the affluence of the nation and the ability of the aristocracy to support the arts had declined. By mid-1788, Mozart moved his family from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund, for what would seem to be a way of reducing living costs. But in reality, his family expenses remained high and the new dwelling only provided more room. Mozart began to borrow money from friends, though he was almost always able to promptly repay when a commission or concert came his way. During this time he wrote his last three symphonies and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Cosi Fan Tutte, which premiered in 1790. During this time, Mozart ventured long distances from Vienna to Leipzig, Berlin, and Frankfurt, and other German cities hoping to revive his once great success and the family's financial situation, but did neither. The two-year period of 1788-1789 was a low point for Mozart, experiencing in his own words "black thoughts" and deep depression. Historians believe he may have had some form of bipolar disorder, which might explain the periods of hysteria coupled with spells of hectic creativity.

Between 1790 and 1791, now in his mid-thirties, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went through a period of great music productivity and personal healing. Some of his most admired works -- the opera The Magic Flute, the final piano concerto in B-flat, the Clarinet Concerto in A major, and the unfinished Requiem to name a few -- were written during this time. Mozart was able to revive much of his public notoriety with repeated performances of his works. His financial situation began to improve as wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities in return for occasional compositions. From this turn of fortune, he was able to pay off many of his debts.

However, during this time both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's mental and physical health was deteriorating. In September, 1791, he was in Prague for the premier of the opera La Clemenza di Tito, which he was commissioned to produce for the coronation of Leopold II as King of Bohemia. Mozart recovered briefly to conduct the Prague premier of The Magic Flute, but fell deeper into illness in November and was confined to bed. Constanze and her sister Sophie came to his side to help nurse him back to health, but Mozart was mentally preoccupied with finishing Requiem, and their efforts were in vain.

Death and Legacy

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on December 5, 1791 at age 35. The cause of death is uncertain, due to the limits of postmortem diagnosis. Officially, the record lists the cause as severe miliary fever, referring to a skin rash that looks like millet seeds. Since then, many hypotheses have circulated regarding Mozart's death. Some have attributed it to rheumatic fever, a disease he suffered from repeatedly throughout his life. It was reported that his funeral drew few mourners and he was buried in a common grave. Both actions were the Viennese custom at the time, for only aristocrats and nobility enjoyed public mourning and were allowed to be buried in marked graves. However, his memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well attended. After his death, Constanze sold many of his unpublished manuscripts to undoubtedly pay off the family's large debts. She was able to obtain a pension from the emperor and organized several profitable memorial concerts in Mozart's honor. From these efforts, Constanze was able to gain some financial security for herself and allowing her to send her children to private schools.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's death came at a young age, even for the time period. Yet his meteoric rise to fame and accomplishment at a very early age is reminiscent of more contemporary musical artists whose star had burned out way too soon. At the time of his death, Mozart was considered one of the greatest composers of all time. His music presented a bold expression, often times complex and dissonant, and required high technical mastery from the musicians who performed it. His works remained secure and popular throughout the 19th century, as biographies about him were written and his music enjoyed constant performances and renditions by other musicians. His work influenced many composers that followed -- most notably Beethoven. Along with his friend Joseph Haydn, Mozart conceived and perfected the grand forms of symphony, opera, string ensemble, and concerto that marked the classical period. In particular, his operas display an uncanny psychological insight, unique to music at the time, and continue to exert a particular fascination for musicians and music lovers today.

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Born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musician capable of playing multiple instruments who started playing in public at the age of 6. Over the years, Mozart aligned himself with a variety of European venues and patrons, composing hundreds of works that included sonatas, symphonies, masses, chamber music, concertos and operas, marked by vivid emotion and sophisticated textures.

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#9 Tim O'Brian & "The Things They Carried"

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#9 Tim O'Brian & "The Things They Carried"

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Tim O'Brian writes this short story recounting some of his experiences in the Vietnam War.  The story follows his unit and the events from their time in Vietnam. The regret these men had to deal with when their fellow men died is evident.  O'Brian writes about the war veterans struggles in a way that makes them real to readers.  The movie Forrest Gump depicts part of the Vietnam War.

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Directed by Robert Zemeckis. With Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field. The presidencies of Kennedy and Johnson, Vietnam, Watergate, and other history unfold through the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75.

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Cheever's short story is about a boy and a father. The boy desires to have a relationship with his father, but his father is addicted to alcohol and does not invest in a relationship with his son. At the end of the story, it is implied that the boy ends the relationship with his father because of the father's alcoholism.  The damage done by alcohol is long lasting, because the effect of a non-existent father is devastating. Hip-hop artist, Lecrae, wrote a biography similar to this short story. Lecrae's mother left his father when Lecrae was very young because his father was an acoholic with self-control issues. Lecrae spent a lot of his life dealing with an identity crisis because he longed to be loved by his father.

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#7 Louise Erdrich & "The Red Convertible"

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#7 Louise Erdrich & "The Red Convertible"

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This short story by Erdrich centers on two Native American brothers.  The two brothers are very close to each other, but the eldest brother, Henry, goes off to the Vietnam War.  Afterwards, their relationship is never the same.  Lyman, the younger brother, failed to bond with Henry over their red Olds.  The first car I drove was a red Ford Ranger. When I left home for college last fall, my younger brother became the owner of the truck.  Fortunately, we have a good relationship and great memories in the red Ford Ranger truck. The picture below looks very similar to mine.

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#6 Langston Hughes & "A Dream Deferred" 

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#6 Langston Hughes & "A Dream Deferred" 

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Hughes writes a poem asking the question,  "What happens to a dream deferred?".  He spends the rest of the poem giving possible endings to his question.  All the endings for his dream result in nothing.  Martin Luther King, Jr. had a dream, and he articulated it in his famous speech, "I have a Dream".  He dedicated his life work to preventing his dream from being deferred.

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M artin L uther K ing , J r .

I Have a Dream

delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C.

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[AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio. (2)]

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American , in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation . This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. And so we've come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we've come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence , they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the "unalienable Rights" of "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note, insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds."

But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice.

We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. And there will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice: In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom.

We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead.

We cannot turn back.

There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. **We cannot be satisfied as long as the negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their self-hood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating: "For Whites Only."** We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until "justice rolls down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream."1

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. And some of you have come from areas where your quest -- quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed.

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, d o wn in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together." 2

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last! 3

= Source audio edited to exclude the content in double ** red asterisks in the above transcript.

¹ Amos 5:24 (rendered precisely in The American Standard Version of the Holy Bible)

2 Isaiah 40:4-5 (King James Version of the Holy Bible). Quotation marks are excluded from part of this moment in the text because King's rendering of Isaiah 40:4 does not precisely follow the KJV version from which he quotes (e.g., "hill" and "mountain" are reversed in the KJV). King's rendering of Isaiah 40:5, however, is precisely quoted from the KJV.

3 At: negrospirituals.com/songs/free_at_last_from.htm

Also in this database: Martin Luther King, Jr: A Time to Break Silence

Audio Source: Linked directly to:archive.org/details/MLKDream

Image #1: Wikimedia.org

Image #2 Source:.jfklibrary.org

Image #3: Colorized Screenshot

See also: The King Center

Page Updated: 1/16/23

U.S. Copyright Status: Text = Restricted, seek permission. Copyright inquiries and permission requests may be directed to: Intellectual Properties Management (IPM), the exclusive licensor of the Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. at licensing@i-p-m.com or 404 526-8968. Image #1 = Public domain ()per data here ). Image #2 = Public domain. Image #3 = Fair Use.

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Martin Luther King, Jr: I Have a Dream Speech

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M artin L uther K ing , J r . I Have a Dream delivered 28 August 1963, at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington D.C. Video Purchase Off-Site Audio mp3 of Address Your browser does not support the audio element. [AUTHENTICITY CERTIFIED: Text version below transcribed directly from audio.

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#5 Billy Collins & "Introduction to Poetry

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#5 Billy Collins & "Introduction to Poetry

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Collins writes a poem about his frustration with people who read poetry.  Collins observes that people rarely read poems for their inherent artistic value. Most readers are only interested in the meaning of the poem. When I think of poetry, I think of my favorite poem by Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  The title of the poem is, "Who Am I?" Not only has Bonhoeffer been influential in history, but he has influenced my life. He is a role model for me, and I enjoy his writings.

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Chopin focuses his story on Desiree.  Desiree is married to a plantation owner, and together they have a child.  However, their happiness does not last when the baby is found to be part African American. It is discovered to be a result of the husband's ancestry.  "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is an interesting book written about the same time period as Chopin's story. "uncle Tom's Cabin" looks at slavery and the relationships between slaves and their owners .

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The setting for this short story is a small grocery store.  Three girls walk in wearing only bathing suits.  The focus is on the cashiers and their opinions about the girls.  They degrade the girls by talking about them.  One of the cashiers finally has enough.  He quits his job and walks out of the store.  My great-grandma owned a small grocery store called "The Confectionery" in the 50's, 60's, and 70's.  I imagine it looking something like the store in "A&P". Sadly, I do not have a picture of the store. I only have pictures in my mind, because of the wonderful stories I have been told.

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In "Eleven", the main character Rachel feels embarrassment in front of her whole class.  She tries to defend herself from the humiliation, but she fails.  This song by the musician Mat Kearney has a line in it saying, "They say what gets caught when you're young Stays there when you're old".  The embarrassment Rachel felt in her class at eleven will stay with her until she is old.

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The album "Just Kids" is out now! Download it here: http://smarturl.it/MKJustKids Check out Mat Kearney on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify: iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mat-kearney/id27491554 Google: https://play.google.com/store/music/artist/Mat_Kearney?id=Apfa2wckumc55jxl3636dniui5q Spotify: http://open.spotify.com/artist/2NQEwAVHBNcI0tGMLlWwF1 Music video by Mat Kearney performing Just Kids. (C) 2014 Republic Records, a division of UMG Recordings, Inc.

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Austen visits an old man to purchase a love potion.  His goal is to have Diana fall completely in love with him.  The love displayed in the story is not true love at all. However, the link to the book below, "Love Does", and the organization with the same name shows a good example of what true love is.