Publisher Description
On November 29th, 1775, Thomas Jefferson said, "Believe me, dear sir, there is not, in the British Empire, a man who more cordially loves a union with Great Britain than I do. But, by the God that made me, I will cease to exist, before I yield to such a connection on such terms as the British Parliament propose, and in this I think I speak the sentiments of America." The War for Independence had already started some months previously, and with no prospect of a reconciliation it was on the 4th of July, 1776 that the Declaration of Independence was announced by the Continental Congress and that the thirteen colonies no longer considered themselves part of the British Empire and were now an independent nation—The United States of America. Their proclamation of independence set human history on a new path. "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal. That they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights that amongst these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." In The Fourth of July: A Holiday in Verse, our poets reflect on why this day is so proudly celebrated each and every year.
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About various authors
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.
About the Narrators
Ghizela Rowe has worked in broadcast
television for thirty years on a broad range of programming. Her specialization
is in music. She helps run the Copyright Group, an extensive collection of
master recording rights, and has lent her voice to many audiobooks, including The Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Elizabeth Gaskell: The Short Stories, and The Romantics: An Introduction.
Ghizela Rowe has worked in broadcast
television for thirty years on a broad range of programming. Her specialization
is in music. She helps run the Copyright Group, an extensive collection of
master recording rights, and has lent her voice to many audiobooks, including The Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Elizabeth Gaskell: The Short Stories, and The Romantics: An Introduction.
Ghizela Rowe has worked in broadcast
television for thirty years on a broad range of programming. Her specialization
is in music. She helps run the Copyright Group, an extensive collection of
master recording rights, and has lent her voice to many audiobooks, including The Poetry of Elizabeth Barrett Browning,
Elizabeth Gaskell: The Short Stories, and The Romantics: An Introduction.
Neil Hellegers grew up in New Jersey and attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he earned a BA in theater arts and a minor in psychology before getting an MFA in acting from the Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. He moved to New York City in 2003 and, since then, has made a career of theatrical performance, percussion, theater education, and audiobook narration. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.