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Still's diaries are very informative. They provide details on the amount of
time he would spend on a particular work, his innermost feelings about a
problem he was facing, and his dependence upon spiritual guidance in his life.
This entry indicates the exact day he began work on his first symphony. It
also shows that Still had fully conceived this symphony as a nationalistic work
that would use African American musical elements. The title "Afro-American,"
accordingly, was not an afterthought.
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