[New-Poetry] Langston Hughes/ W. Dixon, Robert Johnson, etc--

[Chris Stroffolino]

Hey, I got in a really good discussion the other day about Langston  
Hughes' blues poems
(and yes I know that he recorded quite a few of them) and their  
relationship to the blues lyrics
of, for instance, the folks above, or John Lee Hooker, Big Mama  
Thornton, Ma Rainey, etc---

And if anybody else here would maybe be interested in talking about  
that relationship here--
Does it matter that Hughes worked primarily in a different field (in  
the artistic specialization sense) than these other folks?
Is it somewhat analogous to the difference between, say, million  
selling hip hop artists today vs. a slam poet aesthetic which  
utilizes many devices of rap/hip hop?
Or, for that matter, even the difference between say Bob Dylan and  
Allen Ginsberg's songs?

There's alot of room for discussion (and, sure, bring on the "blues  
bashers" though I'm definitely trying to
avoid the tired argument "it doesn't stand up on the page" and will  
try not to engage it here if it comes up)--
Also, if anybody knows of any good essays on the subject---- 
specifically about Hughes and some of the other recorded bluesmen of  
the 20th C---that'd be a nice supplement, but I really am not a big  
fan of posts that just send LINKS
without any commentary as to why I'm supposed to check out the  
link......
a discussion might be nice (but be careful what you ask for, Chris---)

C