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Back The Darker Face of the Earth Save as PDF
Chapters (27)
  1. Front Cover
  2. Half-Title Page
  3. Title Page
  4. Copyright Page
  5. Acknowledgments
  6. Dedication
  7. Cast
  8. Prologue
  9. Act One
  10. Scene 2
  11. Scene 3
  12. Scene 4
  13. Scene 5
  14. Scene 6
  15. Scene 7
  16. Scene 8
  17. Act Two
  18. Scene 2
  19. Scene 3
  20. Scene 4
  21. Scene 5
  22. Scene 6
  23. Scene 7
  24. Scene 8
  25. An Interview with Rita Dove
  26. Biographical Note
  27. Back Cover

But there’s a rose in the gravy, oh yes—

a rose shining through the mists, a red smell.

Red and mean.

But how sweet she smelled!

Cottons and flowers.

And lemons that bite back

when you touch them to the tongue.

Shh! Don’t tell the cook.

Black folks fiddle, the white folks stare.

There is a bird call; HECTOR conceals himself. AUGUSTUS enters; he appears to be following the sound. He gives out a matching call, then bursts into a clearing in the swamp where a group of black men sit in a circle around a small fire, chanting softly. The LEADER of the group rises.

LEADER

There you are!

We’ve called two nights.
AUGUSTUS Who are you?
LEADER

Patience, Augustus Newcastle.

Oh yes, we know all about you.
AUGUSTUS What do you want?
LEADER Your courage has been a beacon—
CONSPIRATORS Amen! Selah!

The CONSPIRATORS surround the LEADER; they react to his words in a call-and-response fashion; their movements are vaguely ritualistic and creepy, as if they were under a spell; this effect can be enhanced with dance and pantomime. AUGUSTUS stands still as the CONSPIRATORS swarm around him, occasionally trying to pull him among them.

LEADER

—and we need men willing to fight

for freedom! Tell me, Augustus Newcastle:

are you prepared to sign your name

with the revolutionary forces?
AUGUSTUS First tell me who you are.
LEADER

So cautious? We expected a bit more daring

from someone of your reputation.
AUGUSTUS I am many things, but I’m not a fool.
LEADER (Laughs.)
Shall we show him, brothers?
CONSPIRATORS Selah!
LEADER

Each of us has been called forth

as a warrior of righteousness.

Each wandered in darkness

until he found the light of brotherhood!

Take young Benjamin Skeene:

BENJAMIN squares his shoulders as he steps forward; he is a trim young man who, judging from his clothes, must be either a house slave or a freeman.

As a skilled carpenter, he enjoys

a fair amount of freedom.
BENJAMIN

The boss man’s glad

I can make his deliveries.
LEADER

So we’ve arranged a few

deposits of our own.

Benjamin, can you find a way

to fasten this blade to a pole?
BENJAMIN Easy.
LEADER

Every man who can wield a stick

shall have a bayonet!
CONSPIRATORS Selah!
LEADER

A few were more reluctant . . .

or shall I say cautious?

Henry Blake, for instance:

HENRY, a dark, middle-aged man, steps forward hesitantly.

Fear had made him grateful

for every crumb his master dropped him.

The two act out the following exchange.