Name: The Weary Blues
ISBN: 9780486849010

At a Glance

Why This Clicks

Poetry in Many Registers

Hughes moves from blues-echoing rhythms to joy and a resonant voice of Black experience.

Come here for

The music of blues-shaped poems
A lively conversation with American poetic traditions

Expect

Clear, colorful language with lasting resonance
Contrasts of weariness, joy, and affirmation

Book Details

Authors: Langston Hughes
Publisher: Dover Publications
Published: January 24, 2022
Format: Paperback
Theme: African American Poetry · African American Literary Collections
Reading lane: African American Poetry

Affinity

African American Poetry
77%
African American Literary Collections
77%
American Poetry
75%

Publisher Categories

African American Poetry

About This Book

The Weary Blues is Langston Hughes's first published collection of poems, immediately celebrated as a tour de force upon its release. Over ninety years after its publication, it remains a critically acclaimed literary work and still evokes a fresh, contemporary feeling and offers a powerful reflection of the Black experience. From the title poem "The Weary Blues," echoing the sounds of the blues, to "Dream Variation," ringing with joyfulness, to the "Epilogue" that mimics Wa...

Read full description

The Weary Blues is Langston Hughes's first published collection of poems, immediately celebrated as a tour de force upon its release. Over ninety years after its publication, it remains a critically acclaimed literary work and still evokes a fresh, contemporary feeling and offers a powerful reflection of the Black experience. From the title poem "The Weary Blues," echoing the sounds of the blues, to "Dream Variation," ringing with joyfulness, to the "Epilogue" that mimics Walt Whitman in its opening line, "I, too, sing America," Hughes writes clearly and colorfully, and his words remain prophetic and relevant today.