Black American Blues Song: A Study in Poetic Literature
name: label: Collection Collector
content: Maltsby, Portia
label: Collection Creator
content: Smithsonian Institution. Program in African American Culture
setName: label: See more items in
content: Program in African American Culture Collection
label: See more items in
content: Program in African American Culture Collection / Series 1: Program Files
unitdate: label: Date
content: 1982 February 5-7
container: label: Container
content: Box 10, Folder 13-14
dataSource: label: Archival Repository
content: Archives Center, National Museum of American History
objectType: label: Type
content: Archival materials
scopecontent: label: Scope and Contents
content: Concert and colloquium held February 5-7, 1982, at Baird Auditorium, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. The program was designed to explore blues as a form of literature. Blues music has been described as a feeling, a state of being, a condition, originating from everyday experiences like partialities, pain, struggle, hard times, and personal love. Blues music is a statement about these conditions. From its African American roots in the rural South to worldwide popularity, blues is a sound and a literature voicing the unique experiences that have forged African-American culture. From program guide. The program was organized by Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, director, Program in Black American Culture (later known as the Program in African American Culture). It featured songwriters and performers demonstrating and discussing their composition process, performance style, and philosophy. Scholars who discuss blues lyrics as Black American literature joined them. Performances by Chicago-based musicians Willie Dixon, Koko Taylor and Taja Mahal are also included among the materials. Program number AC408.14.