PROVOCATIVE THOUGHTS: 
The late Patric Standford may have written these short pieces deliberately to provoke our feedback. If so, his success is reflected in the rich range of readers' comments appearing at the foot of most of the pages.
Paul Robeson
Known internationally for a powerful and rich bass voice, the American Paul Robeson was immortalised for his singing of negro spirituals, and his role in Jerome Kern's Show Boat. He was born in Princeton on 9 April 1898 and died in Philadelphia on 23 January 1976. Alleged Communist sympathies halted his career during the witch hunts of the 1950s.