Fine Clothes to the Jew

by Langston Hughes

Hailed by Arnold Rampersad as “[Hughes’] most brilliant book of poems,” Fine Clothes to the Jew is the stunning sophomore collection of poetry that—in conjunction with The Weary Blues—solidified Langston Hughes as a literary powerhouse.

Originally published in 1927, Fine Clothes to the Jew is both a continuation and extension of his previous volume of verse; continuing to utilize the rhythm and function of Black classical music—the blues, as it were—to capture a scene of Black life in America, only this time with a less pristine picture.

Turning his focus from the tender and nostalgic depiction of the culture, Hughes opts to reveal the raw and unfiltered realities of Harlem; the depression, the poverty, and the struggle of those outside the purview of the Talented Tenth; creating what is arguably, one of the most significant collections of poetry ever published and one of the most-overlooked pieces of work in African-American literary history.

Featuring such poems as, “Po’ Boy Blues,” “Death of Do Dirty,” “Song For a Dark Girl,” and “Lament Over Love,” Fine Clothes to the Jew is a must-read book for fans of Langston Hughes and a forgotten classic of the Harlem Renaissance.

Genres: Poetry, Classics

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 1927

About the author

Through poetry, prose, and drama, American writer James Langston Hughes made important contributions to the Harlem renaissance; his best-known works include Weary Blues (1926) and The Ways of White Folks (1934).

People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...

Reviews

[Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

**You can read this collection for free courtesy of Yale University: https://collections.library.yale.edu/...**

I came across the title of this 1927 collection last month when I read Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography. In the book it was mentioned that Zora would read Hughes' book to the people she was collecting folklore from. It became "de party book" and was "quoted in Railroad camps, phosphate mines, turpentine stills, etc.". After reading that passage I had to see why did this book resonate so much with everyday Black people. After reading I can see why. The language/dialect that Hughes writes in is the language of the Black working class. The poems also had a blues feeling to them.

The title is interesting, especially because it is not a title of any of the poems, it comes from some lines in the poem "Hard Luck", "Gather up yo' fine clothes, An' sell 'em to de Jew". According to Joe Nazel, the phrase "Fine Clothes to the Jew" was popular in Harlem, and refers to when people would sell their clothes to Jewish-owned pawn shops when they were in need of money.

[laurel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad, lonely, beautiful.

[Dianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Langston Hughes is a favorite - a snapshot boots on the ground in Harlem in the Renaissance of culture, style, speech and music. Tough going for those unaccustomed to the vernacular of the day, myself included, who came along a few decades later.

[Gijs Limonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hughes' poetry is a recent discovery for me; I've been missing out. Favorite from this volume:


PRAYER

I ask you this:
Which way to go?
I ask you this:
Which sin to bear?
Which crown to put
Upon my hair?
I do not know,
Lord God,
I do not know,

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

i would like to see some of these poems, most of which are written in the style of classic blues, performed live

[annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

mundane and musical

[Renee Morales · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Dream-singers all, –– / My people. / Story-tellers all, –– / My people."