Today in our NEH class (Friday, July 16) we were looking at some poems of Langston Hughes and there was quite a wonderful discussion amongst the group. We were looking at “The Weary Blues” a poem written in 1926. My classmates are smart folks who were sharing ideas about the 2 voices found in the poem, the observer and the blues man himself, and giving their take on the identities of these two characters. I truly enjoyed the variety of interpretations which came from the wealth of education and diversity of experience that was in that room.
As a musician by education and experience, I offered my interpretation of the structure of a 12 bar blues which I found in the words and construction of the poem. At one point, I was making the observation that I could see the parallel between the typical old school blues man as being quite similar to a minstrel. And I must confess a little confusion of what happened next in the conversation and that was because the ENTIRE class (including our outstanding leadership) took my minstrel reference as the Vaudeville stereotypical performances and performers which was a prevalent entertainment in America during the 19th century.
While Alice, a fellow participant, and I were returning from our superb afternoon class of Ellington jazz at The Bistro, it dawned on me that there was a mix up over this minstrel interpretation. I was not referring to the portrayal of the blues man in this fashion at all, but in hind sight, I can see completely why everyone would think that I was given our topics, our time frame and our contextualization of everything we are introduced to in this Institute. To set the record straight and so this thought MIGHT make some sense, I was actually hundreds of years and miles away by comparing the role of the delta blues man, who may have traveled with his instrument on his back (a guitar typically) who was often musically illiterate and frequently lived a quasi-rough life, to traveling uneducated, yet quite musical, lute playing European minstrels of the Middle Ages, whose role in society had many parallels to that of the blues man.
I find this whole episode pretty funny since I strive not to take myself too seriously.
-- Shari Telaar
