Langston Hughes & the Blues

Download or read book Langston Hughes & the Blues written by Steven Carl Tracy and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 325 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Drawing on a deep understanding of the shades and structures of the blues, Steven C. Tracy elucidates the vital relationship between this musical form and the art of Langston Hughes, preeminent poet of the Harlem Renaissance. Tracy provides a cultural context for the poet's work and shows how Hughes mined African-American oral and literary traditions to create his blues-inspired poetry. Through a detailed comparison of Hughes's poems to blues texts, Tracy demonstrates how the poetics, structures, rhythms, and musical techniques of the blues are reflected in Hughes's experimental forms. The volume also includes a discography of recordings by the blues artists--Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Blind Lemon Jefferson, and others-who most influenced Hughes, updated in a new introduction by the author."