This is a wonderful collection of poetry by one of my favorite writers--Langston Hughes. Curated and introduced by poet Danez Smith, it includes poetry written between 1921 and 1927 (written in his late teens and early 20s) as well as uncollected poems and drafts and musical projects (of the 20s and 30s) that were found in out-of-print publications.
Smith tells the story of how Langston wrote his most famous and first published poem"The Negro Speaks of Rivers" on an envelope: "Consider the making of the poem, the magnitude of this moment, the thoughts that led up to it and the ten minutes or so it took this eighteen-year-old boy to write one of the most known English poems of the 20th century.,,in the face of a world around him that was built on hatred of Black people, Hughes chose to love his people nonetheless."
Blues in Stereo is divided into seven parts. Danez Smith gives a short introduction to each part. I loved reading the whole book. I've never read "War Is War" which was fascinating or the "Cocko' the World," A music play, which was a collaboration with Duke Ellington, never finished. Also, "Poem to F.S.", which I have read before, was in this collection: "I loved my friend/He went away from me..." (there's more)
I didn't care for Danez Smith's cursory introduction to the political/labor section (Part 4) which turned out to be the shortest section. Langston wrote quite a lot of poetry devoted to working people. And Langston Hughes had a complex relationship with the Communist Party. He spent time in the Soviet Union and wrote I Wonder As I Wander about that time. He was persecuted for his interest in communism by McCarthy, of course, so he strongly denied his association. One of the best and fullest treatments of his life on the internet is the Langston Hughes Wikepedia page. I highly recommend it.
All in all, I loved the collection and I hope many people have the pleasure of reading it and learning more about Langston Hughes. Thank you for doing this work, Danez Smith!

This is a short and sweet collection of Langston Hughes's early poems with commentary by Danez Smith, Hughes's poetry is not at all pretentious but it packs a punch.

Danez Smith pulls together the very early (somewhat raw, unpolished) works of Langston hughes as a young artist discovering the world and determining his place in it. His travels inspire his work; his relationships with family and friends evoke emotions and thoughts that are reflected in his poems. The collection is buoyed by Smith’s insights as a fellow artist and black man – and those comments I found extremely valuable and helpful when reading Hughes’ work.

While admirable, the collection is limited due to its circumstances, thus readers need to manage their expectations before diving in.

Thanks to the publisher, Grand Central Publishing,, and NetGalley for an opportunity to review.

I either overlooked or did not receive notification for this book. I have downloaded the book and will review after reading it .
I am a great fan of Langston Hughes and look forward to learning more about him .
I am happy to have received a prompt from NetGalley regarding this book.

First off, my thanks to NetGalley and Legacy Lit-Hatchette for an e-ARC of this title. Available November 19, 2024.
A collection of early Hughes poetry (less than 150 pp long, with lots of blank pages), from his late teens to early 20's (1921-1927). Much of it (all?) has not been published in book form previously. The poems are only a page long each, sometimes a mere stanza.
You can see him trying out different styles - including dialect poems, Imagist, and Whitman.
What drew editor Danez Smith to Hughes as a youth was his musicality, which does come through often here. Jazz, Harlem, churches, blues, folk. All part of Hughes' experience.
But this is especially seen in the long section (of 7) in the book which presents the play/musical "Cock'o the World" that Hughes was developing with Duke Ellington. From the archives at Yale - I wish Smith had provided a year they may have been written (which we do get in the "Citations" for the other poems). One poem they include in the sequence appears to have been written during WWII - about working in aircraft factories (or not being allowed to, as a "Colored" person).
I appreciate Smith's overall Intro, relating how they became involved in poetry thanks to a teacher introducing them to Hughes. Smith is a published poet in their native MN, where they are also known for their Slams and performances.
But the short intros to each of the Sections read more like a High School level Reading Guide, with lots of basic questions "for discussion" about the poet and the poetry.
And I do wish there was a more scholarly Intro to the bibliography of the poems. As the first book publication of the early work of a major (and Af-Am) author, this is an important book, and I wish more background had been provided about the texts.
But it was good to read Hughes again - it has been awhile. And to read some of Smith's poetry as well - the influence of Hughes on their writing is obvious when you read the two together.
This should be a purchase for the shelves of any library - middle school through college, and public.
4 out of 5.

Hughes is wonderful so of course the collection has a high floor, and it's organized nicely, but I am not sure I would recommend it over a more expansive collection. Overall I'm unsure about the book's purpose--if to orient new seemingly younger readers like the guidance at the beginning of each section suggests, why limit the scope so much to his early career and include obscure, unfinished work that is likely to be of more interest to people wanting to read more deeply? I didn't find the introduction particularly compelling, which is disappointing knowing Smith's work. Thanks for the opportunity to read it.

I love the poetry of Langston Hughes. I have since the first one I ever heard. It was a joy to revisit old favorites and discover some I hadn't read yet. I didn't know he worked on a musical with Duke Ellington. That was an interesting discovery. I think this book would be an excellent introduction for anyone who has not read him and a welcoming reread for those who have.