Chapter 9 of Cane is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter IX
Chapter 9 of Cane is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
White-man’s land. Niggers, sing. Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground. The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home. There is a seediness about it.
Chapter 9 of Cane is here in full — 418 sentences across 84 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/83 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
have
From this reading “Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.”
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading “Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.”
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading “Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.”
a state of high honor
From this reading “Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.”
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading “The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.”
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading “Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.”
deliver by singing
From this reading “Niggers, sing.”
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading “Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading There is a seediness about it.
on the subject of; concerning
From this reading There is a seediness about it.
used to join words or parts of a sentence that go together
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
have
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
being of the achromatic color of maximum darkness; having little or no hue owing to absorption of almost all incident light
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
take something or somebody with oneself somewhere
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
To consume or be consumed by fire.
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
plural of “child” — a young person of either sex
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.
a state of high honor
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
the solid part of the earth's surface
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.
where you live at a particular time
From this reading The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.
inside something, or within a place, period, or state
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
the form of “be” used with he, she, it, or a singular noun
From this reading There is a seediness about it.
a thing, animal, or idea already mentioned
From this reading There is a seediness about it.
the land on which real estate is located
From this reading White-man’s land.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading Niggers, sing.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.
reception room in an inn or club where visitors can be received
From this reading The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.
deserving or inciting pity
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
not move; be in a resting position
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
plural of “river” — a large natural stream of water (larger than a creek)
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
a lack of elegance as a consequence of wearing threadbare or dirty clothing
From this reading There is a seediness about it.
deliver by singing
From this reading Niggers, sing.
having or denoting the characteristic taste of sugar
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
used before a noun that is already known, already mentioned, or the only one of its kind
From this reading The parlor of Fred Halsey’s home.
in or at that place or location
From this reading There is a seediness about it.
up to a particular time
From this reading Burn, bear black children Till poor rivers bring Rest, and sweet glory In Camp Ground.
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading White-man’s land.
Chapter 9 of Cane by Jean Toomer holds 418 sentences, grouped into 84 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 9 holds 418 sentences of Cane, unabridged, divided into 84 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 9 of Cane by Jean Toomer exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 418 sentences, grouped into 84 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 84 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 84 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 9 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading Cane by Jean Toomer on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3606 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #60093 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #60093, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 300 minutes of reading across 722 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through Cane section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 9 chapters of Cane to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in Cane, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
