Zora Neale Hurston’s Every Tongue Got to Confess is available on Audible as a 6 hrs 46 mins unabridged audiobook, narrated by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.
Publisher’s Summary
African-American folklore was Zora Neale Hurston’s first love. Collected in the late 1920’s Every Tongue Got to Confess, from the celebrated author of Their Eyes Were Watching God, is published here for the first time, beautifully performed by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis.
Hilarious, bittersweet, and often saucy, these folk-tales provide a verdant slice of African-American life in the rural South at the turn of the twentieth century. They capture the heart and soul of the vital, independent, and creative community that so inspired Zora Neale Hurston.
In Every Tongue Got to Confess, Hurston records, with uncanny precision, the voices of ordinary people -and no two actors better capture this world than Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis. They pay tribute to the richness of Black vernacular — its crisp self-awareness, singular wit, and improvisational wordplay. These folk-tales reflect the joys and sorrows of the African-American experience, celebrate the redemptive power of storytelling, and showcase the continuous presence in America of an Afticanized language that flourishes to this day.
Performed by Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis
- Length: 6 hrs 46 mins
- Publisher: Caedmon
- Release year: 2014
- Audible category: History / Americas / United States
Listener Ratings
Every Tongue Got to Confess holds an average listener rating of 4.4/5 from 112 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.4/5
- Story: 4.4/5
- 5-star ratings: 67% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Great American writer as read authentically”
The greatest American acting couple on both stage and screen bring great authenticity to their readings of the great American novelist Zora Neale Huston’s well researched reporting of many traditional American folktales and fables. I wish audible would offer Ossie Davis’s reading of Muhammed Ali’s literate autobiography Soul Of A Butterfly. Ruby Dee is warmly loved by all and their readings here open widely hearts and minds and souls.— Love Thy Enemy, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Zesty, Delightful Southern Folk Tales”
Zora Neale Hurston’s ability to capture the rich use of figurative language, wisdom, humor, and sentiment of folk tales from people who inhabited little known areas of the south is a testament to her incredible skills as an anthropologist. This reader felt a range of emotions from appreciation for how life lessons were passed from one generation to another, to tales that showcased hyperbolic, fantastical imaginings. Miss Hurston captures the full use of language of the time period is raw based upon the speaker and at times makes one cringe. It is also undeniable the spotlight placed on the type of interactions that existed between males and females, and between African Americans and Caucasians.— Sharon Henry, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “A delightful listen. Reminds me of my parents. “
I absolutely loved it!
I’ll listen to it again and again.
I’ll also share it.— Jonny Ezell, Audible listener
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