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DuBose Heyward (1885–1940)

Author of The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes

32+ Works 2,580 Members 34 Reviews 2 Favorited

About the Author

Image credit: Courtesy of the NYPL Digital Gallery (image use requires permission from the New York Public Library)

Works by DuBose Heyward

The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes (1939) — Author — 2,025 copies
Porgy (Players Press) (1925) 123 copies
Porgy and Bess: Complete [sound recording] (1952) — Lyrics — 47 copies
Mamba's Daughters (1929) 43 copies
Porgy & Bess / Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong (1957) — Lyricist — 37 copies
Porgy and Bess (Vocal Score) (1935) — Librettist — 19 copies
Porgy and Bess: Selections [sound recording] (1963) — Lyrics — 19 copies
Porgy: A Gullah Version (1927) 18 copies
The Half Pint Flask (1928) 9 copies
Porgy and Bess [libretto] (1935) 9 copies

Associated Works

Famous American Plays of the 1920s (1959) — Contributor — 139 copies
Ten Great Musicals of the American Theatre (1973) — Contributor — 82 copies
Bar the Doors (1972) — Contributor — 78 copies
The Theatre Guild Anthology (1936) — Contributor — 62 copies
My Favorite Things (1961) — Songwriter — 56 copies
50 Best Plays of the American Theatre [4-volume set] (1969) — Contributor — 33 copies
50 Best American Short Stories 1915-1939 (1939) — Contributor — 28 copies
The Age of Consent [1984 album] (1984) — Songwriter — 19 copies

Tagged

20th century (12) African American (16) American literature (14) animals (37) anthology (52) bunnies (40) bunny (50) CD (17) children (50) children's (87) children's books (18) children's fiction (21) children's literature (35) collection:Fiction (24) drama (36) Easter (252) Easter Bunny (20) family (24) fiction (133) holiday (48) holidays (46) horror (15) jazz (21) literature (22) music (31) opera (15) paperback (31) picture book (170) plays (42) poetry (12) rabbits (82) read (14) shelf:Fiction (24) shoes (13) short stories (26) song (12) spring (54) summer (12) theatre (27) to-read (21)

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Reviews

Published in 1925, Porgy is the novel on which the play Porgy and notable Gershwin folk opera Porgy and Bess is based. Porgy is disabled and begs on the streets in Charleston, South Carolina. He meets drug-addicted Bess, who is involved with a violent man. He becomes a positive influence in her life. They live in Catfish Row, a black waterfront tenement, and are harassed regularly by the authorities. There are several instances of unjust incarceration, attempts at manipulation, and assumption of guilt for crimes not committed.

This story is a moving, empathetic portrayal of poor urban blacks in the American South in the 1920's, an uncommon storyline for its time. The primary characters are fully fleshed out, with hopes and dreams, strengths and flaws. It contains one of the most dramatic and realistic scenes of riding out the storm surge of a hurricane that I have ever read. The story is well-framed, and the writing is beautifully poetic.

“But Porgy best loved the late afternoons, when the street was quiet again, and the sunlight, deep with colour, shot level over the low roof of the apothecary shop to paint the cream stucco on the opposite dwelling a ruddy gold and turn the old rain-washed tiles on the roof to burnished copper. Then the slender, white-clad lady who lived in the house would throw open the deep French windows of the second story drawing room, and sitting at the piano, where Porgy could see her dimly, she would play on through the dusk until old Peter drove by with his wagon to carry him home.”

The only difficulty, at least initially, is the dialogue, which is written in dialect. I thought it was supposed to be southern, but it didn’t seem to fit, so I looked it up and it is Gullah, a creole language that evolved during the slavery years on the Sea Islands, located off the coast of the southeastern U.S. As the novel progressed, I figured out the syntax and it flowed much better.

This book is a full of sensory details, providing a vivid sense of the Gullah culture and community. It is slim, but powerful. I found it poignant and expressive, fully deserving of a place on my list of modern classics.
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Castlelass | 2 other reviews | Oct 30, 2022 |
I really enjoyed reading this book. As the book says on the back cover, it is very ahead of its time in terms of feminism and women empowerment. It also encourages others to never give up even when others are doubting you.
 
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PaytonSiragusa | 21 other reviews | Aug 26, 2022 |
A (single) mother rabbit with 21 little children teaches them to all work together and help. The little bunnies feel valued as they contribute to the family. They grow up to be sweet, cheerful, and polite. Thereby, the Country Bunny (mother rabbit) proves herself to Grandfather Bunny and becomes one of the Easter Bunnies. This is a wonderful story with quite modern themes and may help enlist the help of the little rabbits at your house.
 
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WiseOwlFactory | 21 other reviews | Feb 20, 2022 |

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Works
32
Also by
20
Members
2,580
Popularity
#9,962
Rating
4.2
Reviews
34
ISBNs
70
Languages
5
Favorited
2

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