The Weary Blues

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Nearly ninety years after its first publication, this celebratory edition of The Weary Blues highlights Langston Hughes's remarkable achievement at just twenty-four. Opening with the powerful "Proem," Hughes intimately addresses the experiences of African Americans during a time when their voices were emerging in literature. Carl Van Vechten, in his introduction to the original 1926 edition, noted that Hughes's cabaret songs pulse with jazz rhythm, while his sea pieces convey a calm, melancholic lyricism that resonates with the heart of his race. His stanzas reflect a sensitive and elusive nature that begins to unfold with confidence and clarity. In a new introduction, poet and editor Kevin Young suggests that Hughes is "celebrating, critiquing, and completing the American dream," skillfully integrating himself into Walt Whitman's vision of the American "I." This edition includes classics like "The Negro Speaks of Rivers" and the anthem "I, too, sing America," alongside shorter lyrics that dream deeply. Hughes invites readers to share their "Heart melodies," promising to wrap them "in a blue cloud-cloth / Away from the too-rough fingers / Of the world."