The settings of the poems vary. The poems take place in wilderness of America and in small towns across America. The poems also take place in bars, restaurants and nightclubs. The setting in the poems about America shows the Americana of the place, whether it's at the courthouse square on the Fourth of July or on the farm with Abraham Lincoln's family. Some of the poems also take place outside of America, in the great plains of Africa. The reader sees African animals and Zulu tribes roam the plains. Tolson also sets his epic poem "Libretto for the Republic of Liberia" in the African nation of Liberia, which serves as a location where African Americans are free.