The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-10-24


Miss Mary Giifen, author. musical
fan, composer of "oid Negro Melodies
of the South,v who tells of five happy
months In Chicago, and who Will
leave birmingham soon to go on tour
with n bureau arranged by the ia
nous Thurston Lieurance, composer
of Indian lyrics.
With her is her "Aunt Easter. ne
gro nanny. whose story concerning
"The Hanging has become ceIe-
brnted. at Miss Giilen's telling
throughout the country. Aunt Eas-
tex has furnished the inspiration for
many other of Miss Giilen's nono-
logues.
You know her, don't you?
Den, Lawd, chile, you sho musta
been gone a long whilel
For Mary's been reading and recit-
ing and singing beautiful things in
Birmingham for a number of years.
composing and doing the most "sho-
nuff'' negro dialect things of practi-
cally any woman artist in all of this
hurrying old America.
And there's hardly party nowhere
around Birmingham and Ishkooda
and Bessemer and Ensley and-name
the place yourself-where Mary has
not gone, at earnest solicitation, to
appear. because she's got that sort
of spirit to respond when it's put up
to her sadly that the party won't be
complete lessen" she's there.
And yon she goes, climbing a plano
stool or a luncheon table, or rail-
road station heater, cause they either
haven't had the money. or didn't
have time to build the pRor chile a
stage.
Lots of Stages
All the fields, all the dining halls,
all the pleasant side porches where
neighbors play bridge, all the yachts,
flat boats, roofs of houses have been
stages to Mary. as we'll as hundreds
(and some of the largesD of the
theatres of this dusty, globular crea-
ton.
For Mary never is mean or acts
squeamish. She doesn't make you
beg her. Am, so onr' please,
Mary" IT'D be lovely IL you just
could be persuaded to give us only
one teeny selectionm
Mary walks up like a seraph with
big wings and goes ahead, tired, sick
or well. And it's hard work, too.
And that's why she's always made
good: why she always viii have
plenty OF lun anu Joy anu SQNOcoS
all her spangled span of days.
Mary won't be home long. She's
back from Chicago, where she went
for a visit with little gold mine
in her bag-a contract which will
take her away all winter.
For she Is to be with T. A. Burke's
AFFILIATED Bureau" which is an ex-
tremely artistic and high-ciass "
ceum combination. which includes ed
ucational and entertainment features
and which is arranged by Thurston
Lieurance the famous Indian song
writer. who has composed SO many
lifting. haunting numbers which you
go huinming around the house until
the family asks you IL there ism
something they can do to snap you
out of the spell. You say you're
afraid not, and go on "Ta-da"-ing.
Mary spoke of him as being mar
velous man: and best OF all, one who
is absorbedly interested in American
art.
Mary's contributions to this circuit
will be programs of modern Amer
lean literature. Italian, Irish and a
few American classics. and her me-
gro dialect stories, which constitute
her regular stomping ground"
Mary stomps heavy on this, too. TO
the audiences giggling delight, be-
cause of her own keen ear and clev-
erness, and because of Aunt Easter.
who crooned the dialect into her
heart as she sang her to sleep and
told her stories when she was tom
boy youngster.
Aunt Easter There!
Aunt Easter is the black maWmy