A short take on the extraordinary voice acting of Robin Miles.
A short take on the extraordinary voice acting of Robin Miles.
When science fiction and fantasy novelist, N. K. Jemisin heard the audiobook of one of her novels, she was impressed by the sound and talents of the narrator, Robin Miles. Many readers have strong, positive responses to Jemisin’s novels, and Jemisin had a strong, positive response to Miles’s reading. Jemisin asked her publisher to employ Miles as the voice actor for as many of her books as possible.
You’re listening to Remarkable Receptions—a podcast about popular and critical responses to African American novels and more.
N. K. Jemisin was one of countless listeners who become captivated by the sound of Robin Miles reading. You see, Miles has what some people refer to as a golden voice. That means she projects a sonorous and appealing sound when she speaks. People hear Miles reading a particular novel or biography, and they end up wanting to hear her read more.
Over years of training and experience, Miles has sharpened her craft and become a widely respected audiobook narrator. More than just the sound of her voice, Miles possesses and demonstrates expansive range as a reader-performer.
[[[Miles reading]]]
That’s Miles reading Octavia Butler’s Mind of My Mind.
[[[Miles reading]]]
That’s Miles reading N. K. Jemisin’s The World We Make.
[[[Miles reading]]]
That’s Miles reading NoViolet Bulawayo’s We Need New Names.
[[[Miles reading]]]
And that’s Miles reading Stacy Schiff’s biography Cleopatra
Miles says that she has a blueprint for the approach she takes for her productions. She first goes all the way through a book, blocking out as many distractions as possible as she reads. She doesn’t read books she’s working on while on the subway, for instance, because she views the experience as too choppy.
As she’s reading a book in preparation for a production, she takes notes on her iPad, using highlights and colors to signal changes in how she reads various words, phrases, and passages. She says that she goes through the book and essentially makes a map for herself. She notes where she needs to breathe with especially long sentences. She marks where she needs to adjust her tone to illuminate contrasting ideas.
Miles is also very much a researcher, especially when she works on projects where she must adopt various accents. When she was preparing for a production of Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John, Miles decided she wanted her narrator accent to sound distinctly Antiguan, drawing on Kincaid’s birthplace. Miles wanted to avoid presenting audiences with a stereotypical Jamaican accent. Unfortunately, adopting a Jamaican accent to signal any place in the Caribbean is an all-too-common practice.
To prepare for reading Annie John, Miles studied by listening to storytellers from Antigua. She then adapted and slightly adjusted what she heard to achieve a desired sound. The results were remarkable.
[[[Miles reading]]]
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This episode was written by Howard Rambsy. The episode was edited by Elizabeth Cali.
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This podcast, Remarkable Receptions, is part of the Black Literature Network, a joint project from African American literary studies at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the History of Black Writing at the University of Kansas. The project was made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation. For more information, visit blacklitnetwork.org.