Anthony Swann discovered jazz through a cousin in the early 1960s, The mind-bending experience of the new genre altered his view of the world and music and ultimately changed his life.

His novel To Search the Night is a testament to his life deep within the the jazz world, his poetry collection, Paint With Words suspends readers in sensory rich moments, and his latest poetry collection Blue Trailings: Sparks and Cinders invites readers inside the smoky jazz bars and passenger trains where porters shared jazz tracks and cultures across the rails.

Click on the underlined titles above to hear our conversations about each one.