The title character of “Karintha” is a woman whose beauty captivates men, making her like “a growing thing ripened too soon.” She has a child, whom she apparently kills, and she becomes a prostitute. Becky is a white woman cast out by the community because she has two black sons. Townspeople build her a cabin and take food to her, but never see her. The boys grow up, cause trouble, and leave, cursing people of both races. When Becky’s chimney collapses, burying her, someone throws a Bible onto the rubble.

The title character of “Carma” has affairs when her husband is away; he finds out and accuses her. She takes a gun into the cane field. Hearing a shot, her husband gathers men and finds her. The men carry her home and search for a wound, waking her. Realizing that he is deceived by his wife again, her husband becomes irrational and cuts one of the searchers. He is sent to work on the chain gang.

“Fern” tells of a young woman whose eyes attract men. They want to do great things for her, but she tires of them. A northerner visiting relatives in Georgia meets Fern. During a walk, he holds her, but she breaks away, sings a pained song, then faints. He can think of nothing to do for her, and he goes back north.

“Esther” follows its title character for eighteen years. When she is nine, she sees King Barlo appear to go into a trance and talk about an African’s coming to the United States to redeem people. Years after Barlo leaves town, Esther dreams of having a child who is rescued from a fire. At first, she dreams the child is conceived without the involvement of sex; when Esther imagines normal conception, the child becomes ugly like Barlo. Barlo returns when Esther is twenty-seven years of age; she visits him, but he repulses her, making her feel empty.

Louisa, in “Blood-Burning Moon,” works for the family of her white admirer, Bob Stone, who wishes she were his slave. Tom Burwell, a black laborer, also loves her. One night, Stone finds Burwell talking with Louisa and challenges him. When Stone draws a knife, Burwell kills him. White townspeople burn Burwell in an old factory under a full, red moon.

In “Reapers,” the narrator watches workers sharpen scythes and sees a horse-pulled mower cut a rat, then continue mowing. “November Cotton Flower” describes misery caused by drought and boll weevils; the untimely beauty of a cotton flower blooming in November causes people to lose fear. In “Cotton Song,” cotton rollers sing of making a path to God’s throne. In “Georgia Dusk,” sawmill workers sing while walking home through the cane, combining music of African heritage with Christian hymns.

“Seventh Street” describes a street in Washington, D.C., that shows the influence of Prohibition and World War I. “Rhobert” is about a man who suffers the burdens of home ownership. “Calling Jesus” is about a woman whose soul follows her like a dog throughout the city, finding her only in dreams of hay and cane.

In “Avey,” a man loves Avey from childhood, although he finds her indolent. After returning to Washington, D.C., from school, he runs into her again, and they go to a park, where he talks and she falls asleep.

“Theater” tells the story of a dancer, Dorris, who senses the attraction of the cabaret manager’s brother, John. John dreams of Dorris but believes the difference between them is too strong for a relationship, so he does not pursue her. His rejection causes her pain. Dan...