Blues in Stereo, Langston Hughes
Blues in Stereo, Langston Hughes
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Blues in Stereo
The Early Works of Langston Hughes

Author: Langston Hughes, Danez Smith

Narrator: Danez Smith

Unabridged: 1 hr 25 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Legacy Lit

Published: 11/19/2024


Synopsis

Publishers Weekly’s Top Ten Fall 2024 Poetry Books

From Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes, a stunning collection of early works written from 1921-1927 and curated by award winning poet and National Book Award finalist, Danez Smith. Before Langston Hughes and his literary prowess became synonymous with American poetry, he was a seventeen-year-old on a train to Mexico City, seeking funds to pursue his passion. His early poems, beloved verses like “The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” were written without formal training, often on the back of napkins and envelopes, and were inspired by the sights and sounds of Black working-class people he encountered in his early life.  Blues in Stereo is a posthumous collection of these early works, in which we see Langston Hughes like we’ve never seen him before. In the intimate pages of his handwritten journals,you will travel with Hughes outside of Harlem as he ventures to the American South and Mexico, sails through the Caribbean, and becomes the only Harlem renaissance poet to visit Africa. He celebrates love as a tool of liberation in his poems and journal entries. His songs included showcase musicality of verse poetry. And the book even includes a play he co-wrote with Duke Ellington with a full score that experiments with rhythm and structure. Blues in Stereo portrays a young man coming of age in a changing world. Page by page, a young, fresh-faced Hughes contends with matters beyond his years with raw talent. National Book Award nominated poet Danez Smith offers their insight and notes on themes, challenges, and obsessions that Hughes early work contains. Blues in Stereo foreshadows a master poet that will go on to define literature for centuries to come.  

About Langston Hughes

The great poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes (1902-67) was equally adept at writing novels, plays, essays, song lyrics, and newspaper columns. In every genre, he created stirring expressions of life's struggles and joys.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ellery on February 08, 2025

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 musi......more

Goodreads review by Shirley on February 17, 2025

"...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.......more

Goodreads review by J. on February 10, 2025

It’s Hughes, it’s phenomenal.......more

Goodreads review by Sonja on October 15, 2024

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......more

Goodreads review by Uninvited on January 26, 2025

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