Where the Jazz Band Plays - The Weary Blues - Poetry by Langston Hughes

by Langston Hughes, Carl van Vechten (Introduction)

A leading figure of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes was the first to use his poetry to reflect the real daily lives of average Black people. This collection celebrates Black pride and contains messages of hope and optimism from the 1920s. Langston Hughes is often referred to as the Poet Laureate of African-American experience. The writer featured themes of cultural heritage, racial discrimination, and optimism in his poetry. He used his work to reflect the struggles of Black people in America, but also to send messages of hope. Jazz and blues had a strong influence on his work and dreams are a recurring theme in his poetry. Not only does Hughes comment on the American dream and Black people's inability to achieve it, but he also uses dreams as a symbol of hope for equity and freedom. This collection features several sections, - The Weary Blues - Dream Variations - The Negro Speaks of Rivers - Black Pierrot - Water-Front Streets - Shadows in the Sun - Our Land Where the Jazz Band Plays - The Weary Blues has been proudly published by specialist poetry imprint Ragged Hand and features an introductory excerpt by Carl Van Vechten and the introductory essay A Brief History of the Harlem Renaissance . This collection is a perfect gift for fans of Hughes' poetry and those with an interest in Black history.

Genres: Classics, Poetry

116 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2022

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

[Jennifer nyc · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had no idea that part of what drew the Great Migration northward were jobs left by low-wage European workers who had to return to their home countries after WWI! I’d like to read more about that part of things, if anyone can recommend a good source.

Many of these poems felt like songs, and worked their magic on me physically. Here are some of my faves:

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.

***

Cross

My old man’s a white old man
And my old mother’s black.
If I ever cursed my white old man
I take my curses back.

If ever I cursed my old black mother
And wished she were in hell,
I’m sorry for that evil wish
And now I wish her well.

My old man died in a fine big house.
My ma died in a shack.
I wonder where I’m gonna die,
Being neither white nor black?

***

To a Black Dancer in “The Little Savoy”

Wine-maiden
Of the jazz-tuned night,
Lips
Sweet as purple dew,
Breasts
Like the pillows of all sweet dreams,
Who crushed
The grapes of joy
And dripped their juice
On you?

***

Sea Calm

How still,
How strangely still
The water is today.
It is not good
For water
To be so still that way.

[Carla Palací · Rating 5 out of 5]

Timeless, musical, beauuutiful, sad, but also fun; simply: art. A Hughes sempre en el coret

[Jack Random · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jazz Man

Langston Hughes is a legend. Legends in poetry are rare. His words beat to the rhythm of jazz. To know Hughes is to know jazz. Many of the poems in this collection are brief yet they leave an impression. One wants more.

[Carole Lehto · Rating 5 out of 5]

The poems contained in this collection are timeless, relevant in the 1920’s when written and relevant today. The introduction by a contemporary of Langston Hughes sets the stage for the remarkable life led by this modern day troubadour.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful

A beautiful collection from one of America's finest poets. No one did it like Langston Hughes. His ability to make you cry, make you smile, and make you think was truly unparalleled.

[Katy-Lynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s all fun and games until they hit you with “I loved my friend.”