Blues and the Poetic Spirit

by Paul Garon

While much has been written about the sociological significance of the blues, this is a unique inquiry into the blues and the mind, a study of the blues as thought. Here, the subconscious power of the blues is examined from a poetic and psychological perspective, illuminating the blues’ deepest creative sources and exploring its far-reaching influence and appeal. Like Surrealist poetry in particular, blues communicate through highly charged symbols of aggression and desire—eros, crime, magic, night, and drugs, among others. A close analysis of classic blues lyrics, along with a wealth of source material from Freud and James Frazer, to Breton and Marcuse, conveys the blues’ major poetic function of spiritual revolt against repression. First published in 1975, Blues and the Poetic Spirit is a blues literature classic. This long-awaited new edition assesses developments in the blues since that time and outlines the social and political forces that continue to shape its evolution. "Paul Garon's study of the blues represents a new and important approach to the analysis of the blues as a psychopoetic phenomenon … this work is an important starting place for researchers who want to investigate the essence of the blues."—Samuel Floyd "Absolutely the best book on the blues."—Robin D.G. Kelley Paul Garon has written about the blues for nearly fifty years. A co-founder of Living Blues, he is also the author of The Devil's The Story of Peetie Wheatstraw and His Songs , Blues and the Poetic Spirit and What's the Use of Walking if a Freight Train's Going Your Way , as well as a small collection of prose poems, Rana Mozelle. He and his wife, co-author Beth Garon, own and operate Beasley Books, a used and rare book business in Chicago.

Genres: Music, Poetry

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1978

Reviews

[Ed Erwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The most interesting thing about this book today is the large selection of early blues lyrics.

The analysis of those lyrics in terms of Freudian psychoanalysis is not something I can agree very much with. I'll admit that subconscious thoughts influence lyrics. I just don't trust that Paul Garon can correctly decode those subconscious influences. (Maybe sometimes a train does represent "Father". But sometimes a train is just a train.) His attempts to link Blues and Surrealism seem far-fetched to me. I'm glad that psychoanalysis of literature has fallen out of favor since 1975 when this first came out.

[Monte · Rating 4 out of 5]

very good! freud and poetry and the fantastic therapeutic value of diminished thirds and sevenths

[Graham Tennyson · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the revised 1996 editio) but it is fundamentally a mid seventies book. The seventies were strange. The book needs to be read with this in mind. However, if you are looking for a book about blues lyrics from a psychoanalytic and surrealist perspective this is the book for you - maybe the only book you need to read on the subject! It is stuffed full of deep insight and crammed with great quotes. I couldn't put it down, but I couldn't recommend it. I don't actually know anyone who would stick with it - but I don't know everyone.

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

one of the best blues books i've ever read (along w/robert palmer's "deep blues"). it talks a lot about surrealism and the blues, and it also talks about how blues lyrics were in a secret code so that they could vent about white people without them realizing. sometimes the book got academic and difficult for me to read but i still thought it was great. cool photo's and drawings.

[Steve · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book that charts the common territory between Blues and Surrealism, another chart for setting the Wayback Machine to explore "old, weird America."

[T. Smith]

Also check out Paul's book on Peetie Wheatstraw and Paul & Beth Garon's book on Memphis Minnie.