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.