African Diaspora at Internet Archive: High John / John Henry

After Lester's knee-high man yesterday, I thought I would turn the tables and choose a big hero for the book today, so it's The Adventures of High John the Conqueror by Steve Sanfield.

These are the stories that you'll find in the book: Master's Walking Stick ~ Just Possum ~ You Better Not Do It ~ In a Box ~ Off Limits ~ John Wins a Bet ~ This One and That One ~ Who's the Fool Now? ~ George's Dream ~ Deer Hunting ~ John's Memory ~ Freedom ~ An Epidemic of Ducks ~ John in Court ~ Tops and Bottoms ~ The Christmas Turkey. Also be sure to check out the Introduction, along with the notes and bibliography in the back too.

The illustrations are by Wendell Hall. Look at that possum!

And here's John himself with the Mean Man of the Swamps (from the story "Freedom"):

I should note that the book is dedicated to two great African American folklorists, J. Mason Brewer and Zora Neale Hurston, both of whom I've written about before at this blog. :-)

Plus, you can find out more about the High John the Conqueror tradition at Wikipedia, and you can also find out more about Sanfield at Wikipedia too. 

Sanfield is also the author of a book about John Henry, which you can also find at the Internet Archive: A Natural Man: The True Story of John Henry.

It features illustrations by Peter Thornton:

So, two African American heroes to read about: enjoy!

The Adventures of High John the Conqueror

by Steve Sanfield

A Natural Man: The True Story of John Henry

by Steve Sanfield