Poems on Slavery

Author(s): Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Genre(s): Poetry

Narrators: Aniroo, Garyleosmith, Joelee Pasztor, Chris Pyle, Nemo, Emma Charlotte

Number of Chapters: 9

Length: 15 minutes

Language: English

This is a short volume of abolitionist poetry by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, first published in 1842. As Wikipedia notes, Longfellow himself was not entirely satisfied with his work: "However, as Longfellow himself wrote, the poems were 'so mild that even a Slaveholder might read them without losing his appetite for breakfast'. A critic for The Dial agreed, calling it 'the thinnest of all Mr. Longfellow's thin books; spirited and polished like its forerunners; but the topic would warrant a deeper tone'. The New England Anti-Slavery Association, however, was satisfied enough with the collection to reprint it for further distribution." Despite these shortcomings, however, this volume is of historical importance and will interest many listeners. - Summary by Carolin