As a young man in the late 1800s, James Weldon Johnson was profoundly influenced by the sermons he heard by the renowned black preachers of the day. Later in life, he transformed his memories into magnificent poems about Creation, the Flood, the Crucifixion, the Prodigal Son, Noahs Ark, Judgment Day, and other stories from the Bible. Published in 1927, during the Harlem Renaissance, Gods Trombones became one of Johnsons most celebrated works.