What do you think?
Rate this book
Dirty Bird Blues
A quietly influential force in African American literature and art, Clarence Major makes his Penguin Classics debut with the twenty-fifth-anniversary edition of Dirty Bird Blues
The PRH Audio book of Dirty Bird Blues by Clarence Major won a 2022 EARPHONE AWARD. Narrated by Dion Graham.
A Penguin Classic
Set in post-World War II Chicago and Omaha, the novel features Manfred Banks, a young, harmonica-blowing blues singer who is always writing music in his head. Torn between his friendships with fellow musicians and nightclub life and his responsibilities to his wife and child, along with the pressures of dealing with a racist America that assaults him at every turn, Manfred seeks easy answers in "Dirty Bird" (Old Crow whiskey) and in moving on. He moves to Omaha with hopes of better opportunities as a blue-collar worker, but the blues in his soul and the dreams in his mind keep bringing him back to face himself. After a nightmarish descent into his own depths, Manfred emerges with fresh awareness and possibility. Through Manfred, we witness and experience the process by which modern American English has been vitalized and strengthened by the poetry and the poignancy of the African-American experience. As Manfred struggles with the oppressive constraints of society and his private turmoil, his rich inner voice resonates with the blues.
The PRH Audio book of Dirty Bird Blues by Clarence Major won a 2022 EARPHONE AWARD. Narrated by Dion Graham.
A Penguin Classic
Set in post-World War II Chicago and Omaha, the novel features Manfred Banks, a young, harmonica-blowing blues singer who is always writing music in his head. Torn between his friendships with fellow musicians and nightclub life and his responsibilities to his wife and child, along with the pressures of dealing with a racist America that assaults him at every turn, Manfred seeks easy answers in "Dirty Bird" (Old Crow whiskey) and in moving on. He moves to Omaha with hopes of better opportunities as a blue-collar worker, but the blues in his soul and the dreams in his mind keep bringing him back to face himself. After a nightmarish descent into his own depths, Manfred emerges with fresh awareness and possibility. Through Manfred, we witness and experience the process by which modern American English has been vitalized and strengthened by the poetry and the poignancy of the African-American experience. As Manfred struggles with the oppressive constraints of society and his private turmoil, his rich inner voice resonates with the blues.
384 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1996
12 people are currently reading
383 people want to read
About the author
Clarence Major
56 books27 followersCurrently a professor of twentieth century American literature at the University of California at Davis, Clarence Major is a poet, painter and novelist who was born in Atlanta and grew up in Chicago.
Clarence Major was a finalist for the National Book Awards (1999). He is recipient of many awards, among them, a National Council on The Arts Award (1970), a Fulbright (1981-1983), a Western States Book Award (1986) and two Pushcart prizes--one for poetry, one for fiction. Major is a contributor to many periodicals and anthologies in the USA, Europe, South America and Africa. He has served as judge for The National Book Awards, the PEN-Faulkner Award and twice for the National Endowment for The Arts. Major has traveled extensively and lived in various parts of the United States and for extended periods in France and Italy. He has lectured and read his work in dozens of U. S. universities as well as in England, France, Liberia, West Germany, Ghana, and Italy.
Clarence Major was a finalist for the National Book Awards (1999). He is recipient of many awards, among them, a National Council on The Arts Award (1970), a Fulbright (1981-1983), a Western States Book Award (1986) and two Pushcart prizes--one for poetry, one for fiction. Major is a contributor to many periodicals and anthologies in the USA, Europe, South America and Africa. He has served as judge for The National Book Awards, the PEN-Faulkner Award and twice for the National Endowment for The Arts. Major has traveled extensively and lived in various parts of the United States and for extended periods in France and Italy. He has lectured and read his work in dozens of U. S. universities as well as in England, France, Liberia, West Germany, Ghana, and Italy.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 20, 2025
A prolific artist, poet, and novelist, Clarence Major published a slate of avant-garde novels in the 70s and 80s, some with Fiction Collective, before turning to more conventional realism in the 1990s and beyond. The rhythms of the early blues pioneers powers this delightful novel set in the 50s, following frustrated bluesman Manfred across his work, relationship, and musical misadventures as he forges a new life in Omaha with his woman while wrestling the dirty bird (the bottle, the booze, the liquid crack). A triumph of smooth, melodious prose, with pitch-perfect dialect of the period, Major’s most famous novel is a captivating frolic peppered with blues lyrics that bring to mind the early days of Muddy, Hooker, and the Wolf.
March 6, 2022
full post here:
https://www.readingavidly.com/2022/03...
I'm not exactly sure where I first heard about Dirty Bird Blues, but I think it was this year's inclusion in the long-established collection of Penguin Classics that sold me. According to Penguin's website, their classics collections
"represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines,"
and are also meant to "guide you through a reader's odyssey." This latest addition to the series is by Clarence Major, about whom John Beckman has provided a brief biography as part of his introduction to Dirty Bird Blues; I also went to BlackPast for more info about this author. He's published nine novels, two short fiction volumes and sixteen poetry collections; he is also "an accomplished visual artist." About this book, Beckman quotes Major as saying that it is "another kind of experiment, this time with the language of the blues," to which Beckman adds that the novel is "powered by realism, and its experiments only enhance the effect." It's also a novel I read twice; the second time through only boosted my admiration of this story in which a young, conflicted musician named Manfred ("Man") Banks must reckon not only with balancing his artistic life with family responsibilities, but also must navigate a racist society while learning how to deal with problems of his own making.
The story's a good one, and yet the joy of reading is found less in the plot than in the "language of the blues" the author employs throughout. "Singing," we are told at the beginning, was Man's "way of talking out this furious, crazy thing in him that made him glide, leap, holler, and scream as if over treetops without even moving," and the blues, as he says, "done saved as many lives as church songs." His lyrics and his often-surrealistic dreams offer not only a look into Man's troubled psyche, but also, as the book description notes, "keep bringing him back to face himself." As Yusef Komunyakaa notes so eloquently in the foreward he's written for Dirty Bird Blues,
"Man isn't merely a bluesman, but he is an artist, always engaged, like a John Coltrane -- not satisfied with the mere fingering of the elemental strings of his existence but determined to see into the mystery of his being, as well as gaze up at the sky or seek out a woman's eyes."
I read Dirty Bird Blues as part of Black History month, a fine choice and it's a novel that has stuck with me since finishing it both in terms of content and especially because of the writing. Clearly Major is a gifted, out-of-the-box author, and it didn't take long before I was completely immersed and entranced. I can definitely recommend it.
https://www.readingavidly.com/2022/03...
I'm not exactly sure where I first heard about Dirty Bird Blues, but I think it was this year's inclusion in the long-established collection of Penguin Classics that sold me. According to Penguin's website, their classics collections
"represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines,"
and are also meant to "guide you through a reader's odyssey." This latest addition to the series is by Clarence Major, about whom John Beckman has provided a brief biography as part of his introduction to Dirty Bird Blues; I also went to BlackPast for more info about this author. He's published nine novels, two short fiction volumes and sixteen poetry collections; he is also "an accomplished visual artist." About this book, Beckman quotes Major as saying that it is "another kind of experiment, this time with the language of the blues," to which Beckman adds that the novel is "powered by realism, and its experiments only enhance the effect." It's also a novel I read twice; the second time through only boosted my admiration of this story in which a young, conflicted musician named Manfred ("Man") Banks must reckon not only with balancing his artistic life with family responsibilities, but also must navigate a racist society while learning how to deal with problems of his own making.
The story's a good one, and yet the joy of reading is found less in the plot than in the "language of the blues" the author employs throughout. "Singing," we are told at the beginning, was Man's "way of talking out this furious, crazy thing in him that made him glide, leap, holler, and scream as if over treetops without even moving," and the blues, as he says, "done saved as many lives as church songs." His lyrics and his often-surrealistic dreams offer not only a look into Man's troubled psyche, but also, as the book description notes, "keep bringing him back to face himself." As Yusef Komunyakaa notes so eloquently in the foreward he's written for Dirty Bird Blues,
"Man isn't merely a bluesman, but he is an artist, always engaged, like a John Coltrane -- not satisfied with the mere fingering of the elemental strings of his existence but determined to see into the mystery of his being, as well as gaze up at the sky or seek out a woman's eyes."
I read Dirty Bird Blues as part of Black History month, a fine choice and it's a novel that has stuck with me since finishing it both in terms of content and especially because of the writing. Clearly Major is a gifted, out-of-the-box author, and it didn't take long before I was completely immersed and entranced. I can definitely recommend it.
June 4, 2022
A seriously underwhelming realist novel about a man literally named Man (technically, Manfred) trying to navigate the trappings of black masculinity in mid 20th century Chicago and Omaha. How is Man meant to "be a man" and support his wife and daughter in a culture where black manhood is alternately demeaned or considered a threat? Man's not considered for most well-paying jobs, having to take janitorial work despite being qualified to do more, and when he finally gets better work, he's fired shortly after for the crime of being seen with a white woman. It's hard not to see Man as a stand-in for all black men in this era (I mean, just look at his name).
Yusef Komunyakaa tries hard in the Introduction to argue this is a forgotten masterpiece, presumably to justify its place in the Penguin Classics series. He makes clear Major was part of an influential group of black post-war writers, but also makes Major's earlier works sound much more interesting than this one. I wonder why Penguin published this one instead.
As a novel, I found this frankly soporific. Most of it is a stereotypical domestic drama about a guy trying to keep it in his pants, lacking in rudimentary characterization. As a woman I'm tired of male authors who fail to develop even slightly their female characters, and that is an issue here, but honestly the lack of characterization is across the board. However it's particularly unfortunate Major makes is hard to empathize with the women and girls in Man's life, or even see them as people.
Man is a musician, but it's relegated to the background--for the sake of realism, I suppose, as such hobbies usually are in real life. With such an uninteresting backdrop the "experimental" elements (namely, jazz lyrics and a few dream sequences) feel gimmicky rather than enlightening. I'm frankly not a fan of literary realism, but I think there are realist authors worth bringing back into print (Paule Marshall, anyone?). This book was out-of-print for a reason.
Yusef Komunyakaa tries hard in the Introduction to argue this is a forgotten masterpiece, presumably to justify its place in the Penguin Classics series. He makes clear Major was part of an influential group of black post-war writers, but also makes Major's earlier works sound much more interesting than this one. I wonder why Penguin published this one instead.
As a novel, I found this frankly soporific. Most of it is a stereotypical domestic drama about a guy trying to keep it in his pants, lacking in rudimentary characterization. As a woman I'm tired of male authors who fail to develop even slightly their female characters, and that is an issue here, but honestly the lack of characterization is across the board. However it's particularly unfortunate Major makes is hard to empathize with the women and girls in Man's life, or even see them as people.
Man is a musician, but it's relegated to the background--for the sake of realism, I suppose, as such hobbies usually are in real life. With such an uninteresting backdrop the "experimental" elements (namely, jazz lyrics and a few dream sequences) feel gimmicky rather than enlightening. I'm frankly not a fan of literary realism, but I think there are realist authors worth bringing back into print (Paule Marshall, anyone?). This book was out-of-print for a reason.
April 19, 2023
Over the past few years, I've made an effort to read more literature from African-American authors, not as a gesture towards diversifying my reading (though it is a benefit) but because I've been genuinely curious about Black literature and how often it's been relegated to third-class status in American literary history. So when I come across a book from an author I've never heard of but who writes about Black life in America, I'm always willing to give them a try. Sometimes I'm blown away by what I've just read, but sometimes I'm just left thinking "that was good, but not great."
"Dirty Bird Blues" by Clarence Major is good but not great, and that's okay. It tells the story of Manfred "Man" Banks, a harmonica player and drinker in mid-twentieth century Chicago who finds himself in Omaha after his wife Cleo has left him for a preacher. He tries to get ahead in American society, but finds many stumbling blocks to achieving anything on account of racism and his own alcoholism. By the book's end, he's come to a realization about himself and what he wants out of life, and with a new perspective brought on by sobriety he can start to rebuild himself and find what makes him happy.
I have to admit, there were times when I found Man very annoying. And it wasn't because of his frequent drunken adventures, but because of his constant slipping into song lyrics that he imagines as he goes along during the day. A jazz musician, he can't help but see things through a lens of potential material for his lyrics, but man, it gets old quick. I was reminded of another character from American literature that I couldn't stand: Dean Moriarty from "On the Road." About midway through, it stopped being something that I noticed as much, but it never really endeared Man to me as a character.
All things considered, "Dirty Bird Blues" is a pretty good, though not great, example of modern Black literature (it originally came out in 1997). I'm glad I picked it up and gave it a chance, but I doubt I'll give it much thought again after I return it to the local library.
"Dirty Bird Blues" by Clarence Major is good but not great, and that's okay. It tells the story of Manfred "Man" Banks, a harmonica player and drinker in mid-twentieth century Chicago who finds himself in Omaha after his wife Cleo has left him for a preacher. He tries to get ahead in American society, but finds many stumbling blocks to achieving anything on account of racism and his own alcoholism. By the book's end, he's come to a realization about himself and what he wants out of life, and with a new perspective brought on by sobriety he can start to rebuild himself and find what makes him happy.
I have to admit, there were times when I found Man very annoying. And it wasn't because of his frequent drunken adventures, but because of his constant slipping into song lyrics that he imagines as he goes along during the day. A jazz musician, he can't help but see things through a lens of potential material for his lyrics, but man, it gets old quick. I was reminded of another character from American literature that I couldn't stand: Dean Moriarty from "On the Road." About midway through, it stopped being something that I noticed as much, but it never really endeared Man to me as a character.
All things considered, "Dirty Bird Blues" is a pretty good, though not great, example of modern Black literature (it originally came out in 1997). I'm glad I picked it up and gave it a chance, but I doubt I'll give it much thought again after I return it to the local library.
December 16, 2022
**MILD SPOILER, Very slow book about a guy with a dream. A dream of being a musician where life allows him to make people happy and do what he loves. Who doesn't want that? Unfortunately, he is too troubled to pursue his dream to the fullest. The issue? Alcohol, booze, old crow (whiskey)! Don't get me wrong, the main character Manfred is a likable guy, but his consumption of alcohol was eventually just too much. I got tired of trying to empathize with him and got bored of his self blaming nature.
In the end, this book gets 2/5 stars because Not enough happened. The characters just sort of float through life without making too many changes to better themselves. It was incredibly slow, and the prose just wasn't enough to keep me picking up this book consistently. I finished two other novels/books in the mean time while I was reading this. Eventually at the end Man does turn himself around and it gives me hope at the end of the book for a better life on his horizon. Maybe we can all take a lesson in that...Despite how down he was, he still found a way to cut the booze, play music, and love his wife without ruining everything. It just, was boring and he just sort of floated his way there.
I will say, However, on reflecting on this book more and reading some other reviews, I do agree that it is an interesting, yet mostly stereotypical representation of African American life in the post war era. And I think that also was an issue for me, it simply didn't try to develop the characters or take a new spin. It was quite literally just a racist culture, with a guy trying to make it who happened to suffer from alcohol use disorder and wanted to make music.
In the end, this book gets 2/5 stars because Not enough happened. The characters just sort of float through life without making too many changes to better themselves. It was incredibly slow, and the prose just wasn't enough to keep me picking up this book consistently. I finished two other novels/books in the mean time while I was reading this. Eventually at the end Man does turn himself around and it gives me hope at the end of the book for a better life on his horizon. Maybe we can all take a lesson in that...Despite how down he was, he still found a way to cut the booze, play music, and love his wife without ruining everything. It just, was boring and he just sort of floated his way there.
I will say, However, on reflecting on this book more and reading some other reviews, I do agree that it is an interesting, yet mostly stereotypical representation of African American life in the post war era. And I think that also was an issue for me, it simply didn't try to develop the characters or take a new spin. It was quite literally just a racist culture, with a guy trying to make it who happened to suffer from alcohol use disorder and wanted to make music.
April 30, 2024
Not extraordinary but incredibly cognizant of this, honestly shocked at how engaging Major was able to make slice of life here— maybe I just love music n liquor a tad bit too much myself.
Feel the need to include cuz I gave a friend (kind n supportive!) grief over this: “jarring and spontaneous flashback sequences can sabotage your entire narrative so easily”, but this is the first time it worked for me. Bravo, Major.
My baby is sweet sweet sweetttt
I may have the wrong house
But i sure got the right street
The jailer gave me whiskey
The jailer gave me tea
The jailer gave me everything
But that doggone keyyy
Feel the need to include cuz I gave a friend (kind n supportive!) grief over this: “jarring and spontaneous flashback sequences can sabotage your entire narrative so easily”, but this is the first time it worked for me. Bravo, Major.
My baby is sweet sweet sweetttt
I may have the wrong house
But i sure got the right street
The jailer gave me whiskey
The jailer gave me tea
The jailer gave me everything
But that doggone keyyy
February 16, 2023
Once a month a friend and I go to a dive bar that has a live blues band including an open mic to encourage artists to join in. As I was reading this book, the tempos of the words made me hear blues music. It brought back memories of other friends from years past and the impact they had on me. I used to play sax and the story moved me to look up the current price of used instruments. I’m not likely to buy one, but I just might so I can make the sole full sounds I want to make. Both the story and the beat of this book is great.
October 5, 2023
Loved it. The writing is unlike anything I’ve read before. The bravado of the mc is not only noticiable in the dialogue, but also in the descriptions of certain events, people and places. Loved the mc’s characteristics where visible in the latter and it’s about blues. Amazing book, loved it
March 19, 2025
A swingy novel with a rather boring storyline. However I did love all the interior lyrics that accompany almost all the dialogue in this book. Recommend the audiobook to really hear this done right. My interior white-girl voice could never do what the actor does…
December 5, 2025
An okay book, I was hoping to see more character development than we got. Certain passages were written really well and made me literally feel anxious, highlighting how well some of it could elicit emotion.
May 23, 2022
A fairly standard story told in a wonderfully original and immersive prose style saturated with the rhythms and verbiage of the blues.
February 9, 2023
Really wanted to give this three stars for an average review but it was just a slog to get through it. I've read better bluesman stories and "everyman" stories.
May 21, 2024
It took me a long time to get through this one. I just could not get into it and really did not see a real plot. Manfred was a difficult character and I just felt the whole story was depressing.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews