History Storytellers

We begin with Book V, Odysseus weeping on Calyspo's Island, and follow his adventures through to his return to Ithaca and Penelope. This version of Homer's Odyssey was created over a 14-year period of performing the great epic. When it came time to record this version for audiobook, I realized there was no text: It lived in memory. So I had to write out a 38-page poem from memory. Then I used that text as a performance script and while reading it found myself constantly editing as my spoken word insisted on changes that sharpened the sound.

Naval bombardment of the island began on June 14. By late July, once the southern portion of Saipan had been secured, heavy US Army artillery bombed the northern half of Tinian. The landing forces - elements of two Marine divisions and an army regimental combat team - were drawn from those already engaged on Saipan.

The invasion of Saipan kicked open the doors to Tokyo. In June 1944, American forces had their sights focused on the Marianas islands. Located about 1,500 miles from Japan's major cities, these islands would be used as bases for the new Boeing B-29 heavy bomber, which could strike Japan's most important cities.

The invasion of Okinawa was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific Theater. Codenamed Operation Iceberg, it was also one of the bloodiest battles in the Pacific, lasting ninety-eight days. After a long campaign of island hopping, the Allies planned to use Kadena Air Base on Okinawa as a base for Operation Downfall, the planned invasion of the Japanese home islands.

The war for the Pacific rages on. The US has set their sights on the Tarawa atoll - a small yet vital island which, if captured, would give the Allies a powerful stepping stone into the heart of Japanese waters and the rest of the Gilbert Islands. Through a coordinated assault of carefully planned beach landings, the Marines made their attack on November 20, 1943...and encountered a resistance so fierce and violent it shook the Allies to the core.

From an award-winning author comes this biography about beloved librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker, the first Black coordinator of children’s services at all branches of the New York Public Library. Before Augusta Braxton Baker became a storyteller, she was an excellent story...