Blues in Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes

by Langston Hughes

Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes was most well-known for his poems, novels, and plays that highlight Black American life in post-slavery America. James Mercer Langston Hughes was born on February 1, 1901, in Joplin, Missouri and began writing poetry when he moved to Lincoln, Illinois. After graduating from high school, he spent a year in Mexico followed by a year at Columbia University. During this time, he worked as an assistant cook, a launderer, and a busboy. He also traveled to Africa and Europe working as a seaman before finishing his college education at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania three years later. Setting the stage for an enduring and genre-defining career, Hughes wanted to tell the stories of his people in ways that reflected their actual culture, including their love of music, laughter, and language, alongside their suffering. He began writing short pieces in his personal notebooks before seeking a home for his resonant verse. Over the course of his four-decade career, Hughes published his first book of poetry with Knopf in 1926 as well as poems with Yale University and small, grassroots literary magazines. Today, he stands as one of the greatest literary innovators. But how did this literary giant rise to such heights? Blues in Stereo zooms in on Hughes’s early work (1919-1929). National Book Award finalist Danez Smith joins as curator for this work, offering an introduction on Hughes’s lyrical, evocative, and award-winning poetry and notes on the formation of his signature style and craft. Collected from libraries and little-known publications across the country, Blues in Stereo features some of Hughes’s earliest undiscovered writings; the collection of his poems published in The Crisis, a monthly publication form the NAACP edited by W.E.B. DuBois from 1910-1934; and even an original unreleased play co-written with DuBois, complete with a full score. This beautifully rendered collection of Hughes’s early works is sure to become a bookshelf staple.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Classics, History, Audiobook, Race, Literature

144 pages, Hardcover

First published November 19, 2024

About the author

Through poetry, prose, and drama, American writer James Langston Hughes made important contributions to the Harlem renaissance; his best-known works include Weary Blues (1926) and The Ways of White Folks (1934).

People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...

Reviews

[Ellery Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the poems in this collection will stick with me for a long time. I love how it's arranged into parts and that each part has a short introduction by poet Danez Smith. The poems in the first three parts were my favorites. I had a harder time getting into the poems meant to accompany blues music as I couldn't really "hear" them in my head. I bet listening to them on audio is an incredible experience.

The poem that really got to me was "A Song to a Negro Wash-woman."

I read it, read it again, and then came back to it when I was done with the collection. From the first stanza, I was invested in this woman and in Hughes's subtle but powerful imagery about her and society as a whole.

"Oh, wash-woman,
Arms elbow-deep in white suds,
Soul washed clean,
Clothes washed clean,—
I have many songs to sing you
Could I but find the words."

If you're looking to read more poetry, pick up this collection. You won't be disappointed.

[Connie G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Langston Hughes was a Harlem Renaissance poet and writer whose works depicted Black American life in the early 20th Century. Danez Smith wrote short introductions to this seven-part book of Hughes early poetry written from 1921-1927. As a young man Hughes traveled to Mexico, Africa, and Europe, and often wrote his poems on backs of envelopes and napkins. He wrote with insight about Black life.

The first half of the book has many of Hughes' memorable poems such as "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and "Mother to Son." The back half of volume has some of his simpler early poetry. It also has drafts from from an unfinished collaboration with Duke Ellington called "Cocko' the World," a musical play that seems to draw from Hughes' experiences as a seaman in Africa and Europe.

The slender book shows Hughes' potential as a young man of 20-26 years old. While many of these early works were simple and unpublished, there were some early poems that are among the most treasured today. He wrote about Black folks having fun playing music, dancing, and socializing as well as their family relationships and hard times. It was interesting to see his early work, but a reader should read some of Hughes later works too. 3.5 stars rounded up.

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Langston Hughes and was beyond excited to find a newly issued book of his work. The editor did well putting it all into context, and I enjoyed the glimpse of his never-released play/musical.
Recommended for any LH fan.

[K.B. Hoyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read Langston Hughes after the death of a good friend. He was her favorite poet and I’d never read him before, but after her death, a mutual of ours included one of his poems in an essay:

Poem (to F. S.)

I loved my friend.
He went away from me.
There’s nothing more to say.
The poem ends.
Soft as it began,
I loved my friend.

I held this poem close to my heart for a long time, determining to read more Hughes someday. But for that time, that one poem was enough.

Last year I picked up this collection, curated by Danez Smith, and I didn’t get around to it because of many factors. So this year I thought it would make a great first read for Black History Month. This small collection is a gem, well and thoughtfully curated, and filled with Hughes’s signature insightful poems. I highly recommend adding this one to your collection!

[Kate Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I haven't read much poetry, but I saw this at the library and recognized Langston Hughes's name so decided to give it a try.

It was some really beautiful stuff. I especially loved how he drew out the dignity of each person he wrote about. 💙

[J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s Hughes, it’s phenomenal.

[Beth Anne]

I read this collection of poetry by Langston Hughes slowly over the course of the month and was reminded afresh that poetry is not too difficult or complicated. Hughes was an incredible wordsmith and his work is a great entry point to poetry with many short poems full vivid word-pictures and evocative emotions. Plus his words are a window for me into life (then and still now) as a Black American; words that I couldn’t pen but can empathize with and listen to understand.

(I tend to not give star ratings to books of poetry as my own personal preference but this is excellent and highly recommended, also ideal for teen readers)

[Shirley Kiddo · Rating 5 out of 5]

"...they drove me out of the forest. They took me away from the jungles. I lost my trees. I lost my silver moons. Now, they came me in the circus of civilization "
WOW. Written with such passion and formed into beautiful and haunting poems.

[Phyllis | Mocha Drop · Rating 2 out of 5]

Danez Smith pulls together the very early (somewhat raw, unpolished) works of Langston hughes as a young artist discovering the world and determining his place in it. His travels inspire his work; his relationships with family and friends evoke emotions and thoughts that are reflected in his poems. The collection is buoyed by Smith’s insights as a fellow artist and black man – and those comments I found extremely valuable and helpful when reading Hughes’ work.

While admirable, the collection is limited due to its circumstances, thus readers need to manage their expectations before diving in.

Thanks to the publisher, Grand Central Publishing,, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

[Melissa Rochelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been far too long since I've read Langston Hughes' poetry. I happened upon Blues in Stereo, a collection of poetry and ideas/notes about an unfinished musical written before age 25, on the new book shelf at the peacock library (which may not have that nickname much longer if the current City administration has their way).

The early sections featuring poetry, I loved. Poetry is a universal language, and while I cannot speak to Hughes' experiences as a Black man in the 1920s, I could feel his emotional experiences and see what he saw through his words (does that even make sense?). For example, "Gods" -- it resonates, I've had these same thoughts and questions. (I'm also drawn to examinations of religion and love to read of others' experiences with religion and spirituality.)

The later section with the musical, I think it was too unfinished for my limited musical/poetry comprehension? I don't hear the music in the poetry. Sometimes with rhymes, I can pick up on musicality, but I couldn't HEAR the musical from the passages shared. I didn't love it.
A few brief favorites with big impact:

THE WHITE ONES
I do not hate you,
For your faces are beautiful, too.
I do not hate you,
Your faces are whirling lights of loveliness and splendor, too.
Yet why do you torture me,
O, white strong ones,
Why do you torture me?

GODS
The ivory gods,
And the ebony gods,
And the gods of diamond and jade,
Sit silently on their temple shelves
While the people
Are afraid.
Yet the ivory gods,
And the ebony gods,
And the gods of diamond-jade,
Are only silly puppet gods
That the people themselves
Have made.

THE POPPY FLOWER
A wild poppy-flower
Withered and died.
The day-people laughed
But the night-people cried.
A wild poppy-flower
Withered and died.

[Carrolet · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of poems and a play from Langston Hughes’ early years. It’s a delight to have this little book with its beautiful cover to remind us of his greatness.

[Sonja · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful collection of poetry by one of my favorite writers--Langston Hughes. Curated and introduced by poet Danez Smith, it includes poetry written between 1921 and 1927 (written in his late teens and early 20s) as well as uncollected poems and drafts and musical projects (of the 20s and 30s) that were found in out-of-print publications.
Smith tells the story of how Langston wrote his most famous and first published poem"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" on an envelope: "Consider the making of the poem, the magnitude of this moment, the thoughts that led up to it and the ten minutes or so it took this eighteen-year-old boy to write one of the most known English poems of the 20th century.,,in the face of a world around him that was built on hatred of Black people, Hughes chose to love his people nonetheless."
Blues in Stereo is divided into seven parts. Danez Smith gives a short introduction to each part. I loved reading the whole book. I've never read "War Is War" which was fascinating or the "Cocko' the World," A music play, which was a collaboration with Duke Ellington, never finished. Also, "Poem to F.S.", which I have read before, was in this collection: "I loved my friend/He went away from me..." (there's more)
I didn't care for Danez Smith's cursory introduction to the political/labor section (Part 4) which turned out to be the shortest section. Langston wrote quite a lot of poetry devoted to working people. And Langston Hughes had a complex relationship with the Communist Party. He spent time in the Soviet Union and wrote I Wonder As I Wander about that time. He was persecuted for his interest in communism by McCarthy, of course, so he strongly denied his association. One of the best and fullest treatments of his life on the internet is the Langston Hughes Wikepedia page. I highly recommend it.
All in all, I loved the collection and I hope many people have the pleasure of reading it and learning more about Langston Hughes. Thank you for doing this work, Danez Smith!

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'd only read a few of his poems previously. I need to go read more! The music poems had me humming tunes and tapping my feet in time. Fire-Caught was striking, and I can't quite explain why. The poem gods reminded me of a line from John Calvin about our hearts being idol factories. Mother to Son was beautiful and poignant. There were so many good poems in this collection. Danez Smith's notes really helped me navigate the themes and styles of poetry. I'd read Langston Hughes before, but I'm now realizing that we never discussed how he used musical rhythm in some of his poems. I look forward to reading more of his poetry in the future. These poems dance. Why don't more poems dance?

[ReGina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even at an early age, Langston Hughes’s talent shines through. Ever present in his writing is the life, the struggles, the pain and the joys of being Black, and he does so unapologetically and with great pride. From washing women to church folk, Hughes captures the everyday life experience and highlights its significance. I’ve missed good ol’ Langston. This was a great reminder that we need to visit more often.

[Uninvited Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant collection, with so many levels. This is utterly delicious.

[Sharice Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

There is very little to critique when it comes to the writings of Langston Hughes. His poetry is timeless. Decades later, his words still hit with clarity, rhythm, and truth. Like his contemporaries among classic African American writers, Hughes’ work continues to stand the test of time, speaking honestly to identity, struggle, beauty, and resilience.

This collection, curated by Danez Smith, includes both familiar and lesser known pieces, which allows the reader to experience the depth of his writing that defined his voice. Several poems stood out to me:
•“Poem (Originally Published as ‘The Negro’)”
•“The South”
•“Song for a Suicide”
•“Lullaby”
•“Cocko’ The World”
•“I’ll Drop My Anchor With You”

Each poem reminded me of the emotional and cultural weight of the time which he wrote them.

My only critique of this collection is the inclusion of unfinished writings. Some pieces were formatted with X’s to indicate missing or illegible text. The unfinished nature of these selections really disrupted the reading experience for me. Personally, I would have preferred the collection focus on completed works.

Overall, Blues in Stereo is a great introduction for readers new to classic African American poets and a meaningful addition for longtime fans of Langston Hughes. His voice remains essential, honest, and enduring.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was definitely drawn to purchase this little volume on a whim when I saw the gorgeous cover design, but it's also a great, easy-to-read collection that feels just as they are: pulled from Hughes' early notebooks and small publications. Mostly poems curated and organized with contextual intros in neat sections, plus notes and lyrics for a never-released musical play that is easy to picture while reading in the style of contemporary productions of that era. Full of imagery painting the ordinary in a romantic and reverent light and themes of admiration for his fellow people amidst a culture of oppression.

[Tiffany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved every bit of this collection. I also loved Danez’s commentary on the background of the poems, Langston’s life, and why they chose to add the poem in this collection. If you can listen on audio and read along with the physical copy…DO SO! One thing Danez Smith is going to do is PERFORM A POEM! They brought Langston’s poems to life and gave them a voice that really brought true understanding and perspective to each work!!!

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Florence Buchholz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A high school teacher read a poem by Langston Hughes to the class. That poem has stayed with me for almost sixty years. Hughes writes about people, events in sparse language. Each word does some heavy lifting. There is nothing flowery, nothing cerebral. Just insight.

Here's one:
Poetry should treat
of lofty things
Soaring thoughts
And birds with wings.

The Muse of Poetry
Should not know
That roses
In manure grow.

The Muse of Poetry
Should not care
That earthly pain
Is everywhere

Poetry!
Treat of lofty things:
Soaring thoughts
And bird with wings.

With his raw, honest voice, Hughes ironically mocks poetry. Earthly pain and manure are his muse.

[ritareadthat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely some keepers in this collection.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to audiobook.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

a master.

[Mariyam · Rating 4 out of 5]

lovely compilation of poems. We all know Langston Hughes' name as a Harlem Renaissance poet. But actually reading his poems was super humanizing and impactful.
____________________________________________
I don't usually like old-fashion, flowery, trope-y, abstract poems, but Hughes' work was really pleasant, creative, and original in the usage of nature and geography allegories. For example, in Dream Variation, "Rest at pale evening.... A tall, slim tree... Night coming tenderly Black like me." or in The South "The lazy, laughing South With blood on its mouth... Scratching in the dead fire's ashes for a Negro's bones. Cottom and the moon, warmth, earth, warmth..." This reminded me of "Strange Fruit" by Abel Meeropol (sung by Billie Holliday ofc.)
____________________________________________
Also I especially love his description of people, like in "A Song to a Negro Wash-woman" "Mother to Son" and "Jazzonia" - so humanized and personal and empathetic to his observtions of Black people, workers, Harlem dancers.
____________________________________________
But my most favorite poem was "Airplane Factories" and here it is:
I see by the papers
Where the airplane factories still
Don't give much work to colored people-
And it looks like they never will.
Yet it seems mighty funny-
(I don't mean funny to laugh)
That they don't let no colored folks
Work in defense aircraft.
They let naturalized foreigners
And some without first papers
Work most anywhere they want to-
Yet they start to cutting capers
If Negroes apply for jobs,
We're "sabotaging defense"
When we ask for equal rights and try
To get off of Jim Crow's fence.
I don't understand it cause
If we're out for democracy
Why on earth Don't they
Give some to me?
I just like more straight-forward poetry and the political topics speak to me, I guess.
__________________________________________
But one of the most artistic and pretty verses was in Jazzonia: "Oh, singing tree, Oh shining rivers of the soul! Were Eve's eyes In the first garden Just a bit to bold? Was Cleopatra gorgeous in a gown of gold?"
So pretty! so royal! we love complex women figures <3
The curator of this poetry collection, poet Danez Smith, also points out the above verse specifically for how lyrical it is.
Smith's preludes to the book and each poetry section added helpful background info and depth, touched on topics like Hughes' early life, world travels, experience as Black American in the American South, the Caribbean, and Africa. I really enjoyed having Smith's perspective as a Black person to add that depth and also after reading a bit about Smith, I immediately got 3 of their poetry books from my local libraries, and will be diving into those next. :)

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, my thanks to NetGalley and Legacy Lit-Hatchette for an e-ARC of this title. Available November 19, 2024.
A collection of early Hughes poetry (less than 150 pp long, with lots of blank pages), from his late teens to early 20's (1921-1927). Much of it (all?) has not been published in book form previously. The poems are only a page long each, sometimes a mere stanza.
You can see him trying out different styles - including dialect poems, Imagist, and Whitman.
What drew editor Danez Smith to Hughes as a youth was his musicality, which does come through often here. Jazz, Harlem, churches, blues, folk. All part of Hughes' experience.
But this is especially seen in the long section (of 7) in the book which presents the play/musical "Cock'o the World" that Hughes was developing with Duke Ellington. From the archives at Yale - I wish Smith had provided a year they may have been written (which we do get in the "Citations" for the other poems). One poem they include in the sequence appears to have been written during WWII - about working in aircraft factories (or not being allowed to, as a "Colored" person).
I appreciate Smith's overall Intro, relating how they became involved in poetry thanks to a teacher introducing them to Hughes. Smith is a published poet in their native MN, where they are also known for their Slams and performances.
But the short intros to each of the Sections read more like a High School level Reading Guide, with lots of basic questions "for discussion" about the poet and the poetry.
And I do wish there was a more scholarly Intro to the bibliography of the poems. As the first book publication of the early work of a major (and Af-Am) author, this is an important book, and I wish more background had been provided about the texts.
But it was good to read Hughes again - it has been awhile. And to read some of Smith's poetry as well - the influence of Hughes on their writing is obvious when you read the two together.
This should be a purchase for the shelves of any library - middle school through college, and public.
4 out of 5.

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fact that this is a small book containing early works of Langston Hughes CURATED by Danez Smith indeed, makes for a duet of voices that spans the 20th century. Thoughtfully assembled by Danez Smith who adds commentary on the poems. As Clint Smith reviews, "Langston Hughes transformed the way America understood Black literature and Black life. The suffering. The joy. The violence. The resilience. His poetry revels in the music of our language. His love for his people leaps from the page."
Hughes is known for the question "what happens to a dream deferred?" As a young black poet, Danez Smith and his friends learned that a dream could dry, fester, run, stink, crust and sugar over and even explode. They stretched their minds to meet Hughe's imagination. It is hard not to be moved by Hughes, age 18, writing a poem where his "I" is big enough to hold all of us, and "the Negro" is both individual and all Black folks.
"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" became his first published poem in June 1921, in "The Crisis", the NAACP's monthly magazine edited at the time by W.E.B. DuBois. Danez Smith claims this poem changed the canon of poetry, the history and sound of American poetics.

[Glady · Rating 5 out of 5]

Blues in Poetry is a wonderful collection of Langston Hughes' poetry. Probably, some of these brief entries are familiar to anyone who ever studied American literature; they have not lost their power to sear our souls. A Negro Speaks of Rivers and Mother to Son are two of my favorites.

This collection details the reverence Hughes had for his history and culture and clearly reveals the incredible, routine unfairness that blacks face on a daily basis.

Examples:

The White Ones

I do not hate you,
For your faces are beautiful, too.
I do not hate you,
Your faces are whirling lights of loveliness and splendor, too.
Yet why do you torture me,
O, white strong ones,
Why do you torture me?

Excerpt from Airplane Factories

I see by the papers
Where the airplane factories still
Don't give much work to colored people -
And it looks like they never will...
If Negroes apply for jobs,
We're "sabotaging defense"
When we ask for equal rights and try
To get off of Jim Crow's fence.
I don't understand it cause
If we're out for democracy
Why on earth **** Don't they
Give some **** to me?

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

DREAM VARIATION
To fling my arms wide
In some place of the sun,
To whirl and to dance
Till the white day is done.
Then rest at cool evening
Beneath a tall tree
While night comes on gently,
Dark like me,—
That is my dream!
To fling my arms wide
In the face of the sun,
Dance! whirl! whirl!
Till the quick day is done.
Rest at pale evening.…
A tall, slim tree.…
Night coming tenderly
Black like me.

POEM
The night is beautiful,
So the faces of my people.
The stars are beautiful,
So the eyes of my people.
Beautiful, also, is the sun.
Beautiful, also, are the souls of my people.

TO BEAUTY
To worship
At the altar of Beauty,
To feel her loveliness and pain,
To thrill
At the wonder of her gorgeous moon
Or the sharp, swift, silver swords
Of falling rain.
To walk in a golden garden
When an autumn sun
Has almost set,
When near-night’s purple splendor
Shimmers to a star-shine net.

A small collection of early poems that hint at the power and splendor to come...

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to Legacy Lit and Hachette for my copy. My opinions are my own.

While I recognize my human right to read and to have an opinion, I also know that I read this compilation of Langston Hughes early works (written at a formative point in his life) through a very White, heterosexual cis female lens. I appreciate that I can consume and process the enduring humanity expressed herein, despite my very different perspective from both the author and the compiler. I felt pride and joy and tragedy and sorrow. I also honored the celebration of what it is to be Black and the power of young Hughes in openly expressing it. From raw notes to fully-published, seminal works of American literature, this book has it all and I plan to approach it again to see what else it may have in store for me.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent collection, big fan of Hughes; be sure to check out his works: The Collected Poems of Langston Hughes or start with one of his original volumes of poetry; Fields of Wonder or The Weary Blues.

POEM

I am waiting for my mother.
She is Death.
Say it very softly.
Say it very slowly if you choose.
I am waiting for my mother,
Death.